Locked Up
by SassySunshine
Summary: The silver chain with the purple key has been around her neck ever since she was born, and fifteen-year-old Jeanette Miller is determined to find out why it rests there as her sixteenth birthday nears. Dangers lurk around every corner as Jeanette faces situations she'd never thought she'd have to face.
1. Preface

**This is the preface of my story, Locked Up. It's kind of a preview. If this intrigues you, I'll continue. If not...then I won't and this will sit as a one-shot. So, yup...read on. Again, intended as a multi-chapter, will be a one-shot if I don't get positive feedback.  
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**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Preface~**

Ever since she was born, the metallic object sat on a silver chain around her neck, resting a few inches below her neck. It was the color violet, spray-painted on over the gold it was supposed to be. For years, she could not understand why this key was supposed to be worn, but those who had given the necklace to her warned her to keep it on at all times. Like she was destined to do something with it.

"It is the key to your future."

"Jean, it's obviously some prank a senile old relative came up with."

"Maybe you'll unlock someone's heart."

"It's a cute accessory, _duh_."

"Maybe it unlocks a secret diary somewhere in the attic."

"I honestly don't know."

Miss Miller.

Alvin.

Eleanor.

Brittany.

Theodore.

Simon.

Miss Miller had told her it was the key to her future. Then, what on Earth was her future? Why did her future depend on some rusty purple spray-painted key that hung on a silver chain around her neck? Miss Miller was always a little – well, definitely more than a little that was for sure – off of her center. But to say this was the key to her future perplexed the purple-clad, bespectacled chipette immensely.

Alvin's idea seemed to be reasonable. Senile relatives surely do like to play pranks on people, and in her family that was true. But they had sounded so serious years ago. Still, his opinion was in the top three on her list.

Eleanor had thought the key was the key to someone's heart. Jeanette knew her baby sister was a hopeless romantic, but this was a literal key. Jeanette had only shaken off Eleanor's opinion when she told her. She knew it wasn't the key to a boy's heart. Certainly, it couldn't have been.

Brittany. Brittany, Brittany…_Brittany._ Fashion first. Always. So of course she would come up with the accessory part. "It's not an accessory," Jeanette had argued days ago, "it's some sort of key." Brittany had stuck her nose up in the air, stating back that it obviously was a cute accessory the other relatives made and wanted to flaunt by making Jeanette never take it off. Jeanette had rolled her eyes and walked out of the room, off to the Seville residence to get another three opinions.

Theodore had a very reasonable opinion on the key. It could very well unlock some mysterious diary, tucked away in the deepest, darkest corners of her attic, meant for her to unlock and read, possibly containing some vast life lessons. The green-eyed chipmunk had looked at her wide-eyed as they sat down and examined the key together, with Theodore concluding that there had to be a diary with a large lock on it, in a box she had not yet opened in her attic. This was in the top three.

Simon had one of the most sensible ideas: no idea. Maybe there was no real purpose to the key, and the saying was meant to go to one of her other sisters, or another relative. Or maybe they just told her to wear it because it was pretty. There could be many purposes and nobody knew the exact one.

Which brought her back to the beginning.

Why on Earth would her old, long-dead relatives tell her to wear this key around her neck forever?

This is what she had asked herself for the last fifteen years. Even when she had been small. Now, with her sixteenth birthday approaching, she was desperate to find out.

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**So that's preface. If you want this to continue, let me know! See ya!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Thanks for the positive feedback guys! As promised, Chapter 1! But first, some words to my AWESOME reviewers:  
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**RossLynchLUVR: I don't mind ramblings, ramble all you want! I do it all the time! Also, Jeanette was never my favorite character. In fact, she and Simon were at the bottom of my favorites, so I think my Jeanette and Simon plushies had something to do with this...HMMM... Anyway, you'll be pleased to hear there is already some Simonette!  
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**simonettefan: Glad to hear that that little tidbit already has you loving it! I am making this a chapter story; it's official!  
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**ChipmunksRule4Ever: I'm ecstatic to hear that you're already hooked with that little preface I gave you right there. I have written it, like you said to, so here you are!  
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**PrincessLeeLee7: I wasn't so sure they were entirely in character when posting, but that gave me confidence. And yes, Brittany does think of fashion. Glad you liked that part, and here's chapter 1 for you!  
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**luvbug1275: Glad to hear I sparked your interest! You looked forward to more, you got more. Here is chapter 1!  
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**MarioBoy10: "Dark and creepy" would not be my exact words, but there is a few hints of something sinister here and there. And I think I've overdone things in forests. I mean seriously. Like, half of my fanfics include forests. So I don't think so. Thank you for reviewing, and thanks for thinking this is interesting! And yes, I know very well you have a creative mind.  
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**luvdance101: Thanks for reviewing, and thanks for loving it! Love you too!  
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**Ealasaid Una: Hmm, I think we all are. Thank you for reviewing, and here is chapter 1!  
**

**Okay, now that I'm done talking to the reviewers, as promised, here is chapter 1. Read and review, as always!  
**

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**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Chapter 1~**

"Dude, I can't wait until school gets out. I'm like, dying sitting here in class. This is boring! Why are we even taking notes? The marking period is closed, finals are over with, and we're not gonna get tested on this or do worksheets! I mean, seriously?" Alvin complained discreetly to Brittany and Theodore. Eleanor looked on with interest. Simon and Jeanette wrote down the notes quickly, much messier than they usually would, more listening into the conversation as class dragged on.

"There's one day left. I don't see the point in taking notes like the two goody-two-shoes over there," Brittany said, jerking her thumb in Simon and Jeanette's direction. Jeanette narrowed her eyes.

"Brittany…," she began slowly. Brittany grinned sheepishly and gave a wave. She then began to scribble on her paper, imitating taking notes. Simon peered over his glasses with a smirk and leaned over the aisle to Jeanette.

"It says Alvin on that paper, if you can make it out," he said with a grin. Jeanette giggled. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the teacher turning to look in their direction. Quickly she looked back at the board and continued to copy down the notes. Simon copied her motions just as the teacher walked over to scold Brittany, Alvin, Eleanor, and Theodore for talking in class. The bell rang as the teacher continued to reprimand them. Simon and Jeanette looked back with a smirk and gathered their books, and then walked back to homeroom.

"I don't get why they can't learn to keep their mouths shut during class, or at least tone it down so it's not so obvious," Jeanette said to her counterpart. Simon agreed with her and shoved his books into his backpack on the back of his chair. He pulled out his lunchbox, as did Jeanette, and they headed down toward the cafeteria for A lunch, with the rest of the group.

"Can you believe tomorrow is the last day?" Eleanor asked excitedly, joining up with the pair.

"I'm just excited to be out of here," Alvin commented from the door, following them quickly.

"Where are Brittany and Theodore?" Jeanette asked.

"Britt's talking to some of her friends and Theodore was still getting his lunch," Alvin responded. Everyone else nodded and they continued their walk as Eleanor talked about her plans for summer vacation. Soon enough Brittany and Theodore rushed over to them, and joined in listening to the youngest Miller sister. They were at the cafeteria in no time, and they all took a seat at the shiny white and green tables.

"Jeanette, what's on your agenda for summer?" Simon asked the brunette, taking her by surprise. She smiled and sighed. Her smile faded when she looked down and saw the purple key necklace dangling down from around her neck.

"Well…my sixteenth birthday is coming up. I need to know just why I have to keep this necklace on! Were my relatives senile, like Alvin suggested? Is there a diary? Is this the key to some boy's heart? Or is there just no meaning for this at all?" she began thinking aloud of all the possibilities she and the others had come up with. Simon listened closely. She went on with it for a few more minutes.

"Jean, lunch is over soon. You need to eat," he interrupted gently. Jeanette nodded.

"Right, sorry. You probably found that really stupid of me to do for so long, to rant about something so ridiculous," Jeanette said, blushing and sticking her fork into her salad. Simon looked down at his sandwich.

"I didn't find it stupid. I think it's actually very interesting of you to want to find out the history behind this key, and why exactly it's you that has to wear it. After all, you're the middle kid. As you and I both know, the middle kid isn't such a special place in regards of mysterious happenings," Simon said.

"Too many big words!" Alvin groaned from the other side of his brother. Simon glared at him.

"I wasn't talking to you, Alvin. Now go back to flirting with Brittany."

Alvin gave him a glare and turned back around.

"That was a good one, Simon. You're as sharp as a tack," Jeanette complimented her counterpart. Simon grinned at her shyly.

**~Next Day~**

"Come on, just say those magical words and let us out of these doors. I'm bored," Alvin spat at the quiet P.A. system at the front of the room. Simon rolled his eyes and continued to write in his journal quietly. Brittany was filing away at her nails, looking at Alvin with one raised eyebrow.

"He certainly seems to want to get out of here just as much as we do, huh?" she asked. In getting no response, she shrugged and looked down back at her nails, filing roughly at them. Simon rolled his eyes and looked over at Jeanette. The aforementioned chipette was sitting down quietly at her desk, fingering the key around her neck. Simon had always wondered about that key. When they were young, Jeanette had always told him she was just following the rules when he had asked why she never took it off. And the two of them, five years old, never gave it a second thought.

But now…Simon sighed and looked back down in his journal, picked up his pencil, and continued to write. Eleanor looked to him, then Jeanette, and back to him. _He seems to be crushing on Jeanette, just like she's crushing on him. I'll have to tell her about this later._

"Hello students. Sorry to interrupt, though you're probably staring at the clock. It's time for the annual countdown. Five…four…three…," the principal announced, all the rest of the school counting down. Alvin excitedly wrung his cap in his hands.

"Two…one…"

"SCHOOL'S OUT!"

The entire student body let out ear-splitting screams, much to the dismay of the teachers. Everyone grabbed their backpacks, whatever they were working on, and bolted out of the classroom. They pushed open the doors to the outside, where the sun beat down and waves of heat could be seen coming off of the streets.

"WE'RE FREE!" Alvin yelled, throwing his hat in the air. He waited for it to come down, which, it never did.

"Maybe you should think before throwing it into a tree," Simon said dryly with a smirk. Alvin glared at him.

"Aw nuts."

"If someone stood on someone, someone light and tall, then they should be able to get it," Theodore said. All eyes fell on Jeanette and Simon.

"I'll have her stand on my shoulders. I won't let her fall," Simon said. Jeanette shifted nervously on her feet, looking up at the tall branch the bright red hat sat on, mocking them, and just daring them to attempt to grab it.

"A-Alright," she agreed. Simon helped her onto his shoulders. She wobbled on her legs and held steady by pushing against the tree trunk, reaching for the red cap in the tree. Her purple-painted fingernails brushed against the red rim of the hat, and Jeanette sighed in frustration.

"Si, stand on your toes and balance as best you can," she said, narrowing her eyes at the hat. Simon complied and stood on his toes. Jeanette grasped the tip of the hat and gave it a tug. It fell out of the tree, taking her by surprise. She toppled over, taking down Simon as well. She fell down in the grass, on top of Simon. They were looking at each others' faces. Simon and Jeanette's faces both burned crimson, and Jeanette got off of him. Alvin picked up his hat and placed it back on his head.

"Come on, lovebirds," he chirped to them, "we're going back to our house, changing, and then we're going in the pool." Simon glared at him.

"We are _not_ lovebirds, and the pool sounds good," he said through gritted teeth. Alvin rolled his eyes.

"Sure."

"Alvin…"

The rest of the walk was in silence as the group of six headed back to their houses, across the street from each other.

"We'll be over in ten minutes, so don't miss us too much," Brittany called over her shoulder. Alvin audibly groaned, causing Brittany to pout and glare in his direction.

"Watch your back, Seville!"

"Bring it, Miller!" Alvin called back, slamming the front door. Brittany huffed and stormed into her house, ahead of her sisters. Jeanette sighed and shook her head. Exchanging a glance with Eleanor, the brunette walked inside the house, followed by the blonde. Eleanor shut the door behind them as they walked upstairs to their rooms to get their bathing suits. Jeanette shut her white door quietly and opened her closet doors to reveal a small wardrobe mainly consisting of blue and purplish hues, give or take some other colors.

The brunette teen grasped one of the black plastic hangers from the mall, holding up a purple tankini top with white and black stripes running diagonally from the top left to the bottom right, blue polka-dots sprinkling the small strip. It had two strings that started in the center of the chest, pulled back, and tied around the neck. She pulled down another black hanger with blue boyshorts. She wore one white flip-flop on her left foot and a black one on her right foot. She grabbed a purple off-the-shoulder shirt and black shorts with white stripes running down the sides to change into later.

"Are you guys ready to go?" she called into the quiet hallway.

"Almost!" Eleanor called from behind her closed door.

"You can go without me, I need to do my hair and find the right bathing suit!" Brittany shouted. Right then Jeanette could hear a crash sound from Brittany's room. Jeanette shook her head as Brittany yelped.

"I'm going over now, I'll let them know you guys will be there shortly," she said.

"Alright!" Eleanor called to her.

"Whatever!" Brittany shouted back.

Jeanette started down the stairs and pushed open the front door, stepping out into the heat of the day once more, towel draped over her shoulder. She was halfway across the street when she felt the urge to sprint. Though in flip-flops, she took off and jumped over the curb, landing on the grass just as a car sped by her. She looked back.

"Slow down!" she yelled.

The person gave her the middle finger as they sped away.

Jeanette looked down at her key. It was slightly glowing.

"Then again," she spoke aloud to herself, "it is very sunny out today. That's what it is."

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**Hmm, we all know there must be more to this key than Jeanette is assuming right now. Yes, someone gave Jeanette, the most gentle of the chipettes, the finger. Review this chapter for the next and I'll see you soon!**

**P.S. I should be updating more, now that school is out! Expect chapters faster, more one-shots, and more AWESOMENESS!**


	3. Chapter 2

**YOLO!  
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**School got out on Tuesday! Updates should come faster, granted I don't have writer's block and I have the inspiration I need! Thank you all who participated in the Blackout yesterday! The other authors who came up with the Blackout and myself are grateful!  
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**Some words to my awesomely amazing reviewers:  
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**simonettefan: Glad you loved that chapter. Sorry I didn't get this up sooner - I'll try extra-hard next time to get it up faster!  
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**RossLynchLUVR: I know. How could that person do that to Jeanette? HMM... And yes, I have to admit, that was kind of funny. How rude people are these days. I often ramble as well, for I have way too much to say. And I don't know about having 100 reviews by chapters 10-12. It really depends on who the main characters are in my stories, I suppose. Anyway, thank you for reviewing and here's chapter 2 coming your way!  
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**PrincessLeeLee7: Thanks, I try! Here's another chapter, coming at ya!  
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**ChipmunksRule4Ever: Yep, Simonette is an awesome couple, and they're an easy one to write about with so many possibilities. And hate on them all you want, they gave Jeanette the finger! How dare they! Thanks for calling me one of your favorite authors. And now that you mention On the Line, I am having some writer's block there, but the scene I am writing (or attempting to, at least), is, in fact, Simonette! Thanks for your review, and here is chapter 2! (Hey, that rhymes!)  
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**MarioBoy10: Is it? *Dramatic* You'll have to keep reading to find out. Here is chapter 2!  
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**Thanks guys!  
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**Now, let's recap.  
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**Jeanette has a purple spray-painted key she wears around her neck all of the time. Her sixteenth birthday is approaching and she needs to find out why she has to keep it on. School has let out. She was on her way to the Chipmunks' house to go swimming when she got the urge to run. She sprinted and ended up on the Chipmunks' front lawn just as a speeding car drives by. Jeanette yells for them to slow down and gets the middle finger. She glares and looks down at the key and it seems to be glowing. This is where we left off.  
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**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Chapter 2~**

Jeanette continued to look at the key as she sat in the grass. She shifted positions and felt a stinging pain in her knees. She cringed and looked down warily to see a large scrape on both of her knees, as well as grass stains and mud stains. She grimaced and began to get up when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Need some help there?"

She turned around, wincing with every move in her legs, to see him standing there, looking down at her with a smirk, slight concern hidden deep in his features. She grinned nervously, and she glanced down at her bleeding knees.

"I guess so," she murmured. Simon took her hand in his and pulled her up from the ground, inspecting her knees.

"Jean," he said gently, "what happened that you happened to be sprawled out on the front lawn bleeding with grass and dirt stains?" Jeanette looked up at him through her messy bangs.

"Something weird happened Si. I was just walking nonchalantly across the street, not a sound of a car reaching me, and then suddenly I felt this urge to run. Something in the back of my mind was screaming at me to start running and don't stop until I'm on the other side of the street. So I ran. And I didn't look back until I had leapt over the curb and tumbled into the grass. There was a black car and the driver was speeding down the center of the road. Had I not ran, I probably would have been hit, and I'm not the strongest kid either…so I could have just died. I looked down at the key, and it was glowing, Si. But then again, it's really sunny and some of the paint is chipping," Jeanette explained.

"Jeanette, that still doesn't explain how you had that urge to run, unless maybe you have heightened senses and not realize it," Simon told her.

"That must be it," Jeanette told him, "it has to be something logical. Magic and things like that don't exist." Simon nodded as the chipette persisted with a logical explanation for everything that had occurred so far. By the time she had finished rambling, Eleanor was coming across the street.

"Hey guys!" she greeted, before taking notice of Jeanette's knees.

"Jean, what happened?"

Jeanette looked to Simon. She didn't want to worry her baby sister.

"She fell again before I could catch her, there's nothing really unusual here. Theodore is out back with Alvin in the pool already. You can just go through the gate," Simon said, leading her out back. Jeanette breathed a sigh of relief as Simon walked back over to her.

"Thank you. I don't want to worry her or Brittany," she told the chipmunk gratefully. Simon grinned at her.

"No problem. Now come on, let's go in the pool," he said. He took Jeanette's hand and led her out back. The picnic table was set up with six chairs around it. Alvin's chair had a red towel draped over it. Next to his chair was Brittany's empty chair, then Eleanor's chair with a towel over it, Theodore's chair with a towel over it, Simon's with a towel, and Jeanette's empty chair. Simon took her towel and draped it over her chair.

"Thanks, Si…"

"It's no problem at all, Jeanette," Simon said. He walked over to the ladder, letting Jeanette go into the pool first. Jeanette smiled at him shyly.

"It's alright Simon, you can go first," she said. Simon looked at her with a shrug.

"If you insist."

He climbed the ladder and stepped into the chilly water, instantaneously regretting it.

"It's cold in here! Alvin, Theodore, how are you managing to keep warm?" he shivered.

"Swim around, Sherlock. I thought it was obvious," Alvin retorted to his brother, diving underwater and coming back up a moment later with a part of his water gun.

"I found it, Theodore!"

Simon rolled his eyes and looked over at Jeanette, who was slowly coming into the water. She was up to her waist when she was pushed in from behind. Brittany stood behind her on the ladder, giggling, as she watched the chipette fall into the water.

"Brittany, don't do that!" Eleanor gasped. Jeanette came up from under the water, soaking wet, and not a sign of being cold at all, for having been in the water only a few seconds.

"Are you okay?" Simon asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Jeanette said. She pushed her now-wet glasses up her nose and looked to Brittany with a glare.

"Brittany, that wasn't funny or nice. I could have drowned for crying out loud! I wasn't ready to be pushed in like that," she said sternly. Brittany shrugged, earning another glare from Simon. The auburn-haired chipette jumped into the cold water before she could receive another harsh look.

"Are you positive you're okay?" Simon asked Jeanette again, looking into her emerald-colored eyes with concern. Jeanette smiled at him.

"I'm fine, Simon."

"Are you cold at all? I'm still freezing my butt off."

"Actually, no. I'm pretty warm."

Simon raised his eyebrows.

"Hmm, well then."

**~Two Hours Later~**

"Let's go to the park. Your backyard is boring."

Brittany was finally bored, flipping to the last page of her fashion magazine. Theodore, Alvin, and Eleanor were the only ones still in the pool. Jeanette was sitting up in the treehouse watching them, and Simon was coming back from inside the house, now with a blue t-shirt on. He was oblivious to Jeanette's spot, hidden among the leaves. He sat down at the picnic table and took a sip of his iced tea before finally realizing her absence.

"Where's Jeanette?" he asked suddenly. Eleanor stopped swimming. Alvin stopped swinging the pool noodle around, leaving it dangling above Theodore. Theodore opened one eye and slowly put down his arms from protecting his head. The only one unfazed was Brittany, who was reading a list of nail polish colors for the summer months.

Simon narrowed his eyes.

"I know she's still in the backyard. She probably isolated herself and is pretty deep in thought to notice us." The chipmunk put his iced tea down and got up, walking over to the tree. He looked up and could make out a spot of purple. He sighed with a smirk. _I knew it._ His fingers grasped the first silver rung on the ladder up to the treehouse. He pulled himself up, and continued to climb until he reached the top of the ladder. He pushed open the door on the floor of the treehouse and stepped in, startling Jeanette.

"Simon!"

"Oh, sorry Jeanette. I didn't mean to startle you there. You had us worried because we couldn't find you. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm still trying to figure out this key," Jeanette responded, fingering it once more. Simon peered at it closely.

"The best searches always start from home. How about we try Theodore's idea and go up into the attic, to see if there's anything there that's useful?" he suggested, brushing the key gently. Jeanette looked at him slowly, relief hidden in her glance.

"We?"

"Yeah, I'll go with you. I mean, if that's alright with you. If you don't want me to come I'll just stay here."

"N-No, that's fine! Come on Simon, let's go!" She smiled brightly at him. He smiled back at her and they both hurried down the rungs of the ladder and ran across the lawn.

"We're going to the Chipettes' house!" Simon called over his shoulder as they ran. Nobody paid much attention to the two. The pair headed across the street and threw open the front door to the Chipettes' house. Jeanette led him up through the house to the attic. Simon pushed on the heavy door and immediately, a cloud of dust blew out, making the two chipmunks cough.

"I haven't been up here since I was nine," Jeanette commented, wiping dust from her glasses and taking a few steps into the musty room. The floorboards were splintering and squeaking with each step, and the only light came from a single, dim bulb in the center of the room. It was windowless in here with a slanted ceiling meeting in the center of the room. Cobwebs littered the area and Jeanette knew there were countless dead and alive insects up here.

"And now I recall why I haven't come up here in nearly seven years," the purple-clad chipette said, looking around. Simon nodded in agreement, hesitantly poking around at boxes and dirty white sheets draped over old furniture.

"Where should we even start? There's a lot up here."

"All of the boxes should be marked on the top. There are only two boxes of books, so let's start there. I recall them being over here somewhere if my memory serves me correctly," Jeanette replied, walking carefully around old baby toys over to one of the corners. She pulled on one of the boxes, sliding it onto the open area of the floor and sat down next to Simon. The two chipmunks carefully pried open the lid to see four neat rows of books.

"Let's take these out and look for a diary. I'll look through the first two rows, you look through the second two," Simon suggested. Jeanette agreed to it and they pulled out the books cautiously. They spent the next ten minutes looking through the books, with no luck of finding a diary. Jeanette sighed and pulled over the other box. She opened it and saw another four rows of books.

"Wanna use the same method as last time?" she asked dimly, reaching for her pile without waiting for a response. Simon grabbed at his as well and they looked at each book. There was still no sign of a diary by the end of the search, however.

"That was a waste of a good twenty minutes of our lives," Jeanette commented.

"Nah, I actually enjoyed it. Mystery is my favorite genre, and I guess this key is our little mystery," Simon said, looking down at the pile in front of him. Jeanette smiled at him.

"You really think so?" she asked. He nodded. Jeanette opened her mouth to speak when a faded manila envelope sticking out of the bottom of the box caught her eye.

"Simon, look!"

Jeanette lifted the now-empty box and grabbed the envelope.

"Miss Jeanette Sylvia Miller," Simon read aloud, from over Jeanette's shoulder. The brunette tore open the envelope and began to read out loud the cursive writings.

"Dearest Jeanette, By the time you finally read this letter I will probably be long dead. I hope you listened to me about wearing that special purple key. If my guess is correct, your sixteenth birthday is coming up and you are dying to know more about why I have told you to wear this key around your neck. Like all good mysteries, this letter begins your journey to learn about your destiny and the key. This is something big, Jeanette. I recommend you do not go through this alone. Take a companion along. You must; it is vital for your own survival. Your first clue on the road to finding out your fate is: Be aware of strange happenings, even the tiniest thing that is out of the ordinary. These will be very important. Sincerely, Great Aunt Dolores."

"There must be more than meets the eye to this key, Jean. The letter proves it," Simon said, laying a hand on his counterpart's shoulder. Jeanette looked him in the eye.

"Simon. We're going to the library."

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**CLIFFHANGER! Thanks to all who participated in the Blackout yesterday! **

**Now, what could Jeanette's Great Aunt Dolores know that she doesn't? Well, quite a lot it seems. Coincidence her aunt knows it's her sixteenth birthday soon and she's going to need a companion? I think not! And **_**vital for her survival? **_**What on Earth could that mean? Well, I've got a pretty good idea. Leave your guesses in the reviews and stay tuned for chapter 3, coming soon!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Alright, two chapter uploads in one day!  
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**This chapter is shorter, serving as kind of a gap-filler setting up for bigger events to come in the next 2-3 chapters.  
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**There is a lot of truth coming out about the key in this chapter, so be prepared to learn about someone in Miller family past.  
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**I forgot to mention, this is kind of an AU, where Miss Miller's family adopted talking chipmunks way long ago, so Jeanette, Brittany, and Eleanor are actually Millers by blood and knew about their mom and other relatives. The same thing is with the Chipmunks, but everything else (siblings, parents ((Dave, Miss Miller)), and their location) is still the same.  
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**It's that time...  
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**It's time to talk to my wonderfully awesome reviewers who had time to read and review chapter 2 in the short time it was posted before this came along. So if you review chapter 2 and your name isn't here, this was posted before you could review the previous chapter. Don't worry, you won't get forgotten!  
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**The Chipette Protector (Chapter 1 Review): Well, I guess considering you read chapter 2, you know a little bit about the key and what it's about. You also found out a bit about what it could be for. No, Brittany will not stop taking forever to change, even if there was an apocalypse occurring. Typical Brittany. **

**The Chipette Protector (Chapter 2 Review): Hmm...I guess you still don't know what the key is about. Well, NEVER FEAR, CHAPTER 3 IS HERE! Okay, but seriously, you're going to get a lot of information about it here. What's going to happen to Jeanette? Hmm...I can't reveal too much right now, but the chapter should give a couple clues. I have no idea if it has anything to do with her sisters. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. That information will come in future chapters. You couldn't wait to find out, well, your waiting is over! ...Somewhat! :D  
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**Karenkook: I can tell you two things about what it means: 1) Jeanette's life is going to change forever. 2) DOUBLE RAINBOW! SO INTENSE! WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Could become MAGICAL KEY! SO MYSTERIOUS! WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Thank you for reviewing! If you want answers, here is chapter 3!  
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**RossLynchLUVR: Awesomeness? Check. Mystery? Check. Romance? *Blush* Also check! Thanks, but honestly, this isn't the best story ever. But thanks for thinking so! I'm glad you think it's so amazing! Thank you for reviewing, and here's chapter 3!  
**

**ChipmunksRule4Ever: Great idea, don't ever call that idea dumb! There is a possibility of that coming to play somewhere, but that for now remains undecided. It's possible...*mysteriousness* And thanks! I guess Jeanette makes everything better. ;)  
**

**Water-Angel445: Yep! Things are about to get even more interesting, let me warn you. And if you have no idea, you're in luck, because you're about to have some idea. I'm glad it's really good so far and I'm glad you like all of the work I do! And it's okay, you don't always need to review! And about the "update as soon as you can" here you go!  
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**PrincessLeeLee7: I'm glad you love cliffhangers, because there are a lot more to come in this story. I'm ecstatic to hear you love the suspense building. And psychic abilities...? Hmm...no, that's not it. Prepare to have some questions answered and be ready to make new guesses. I'm glad I have good vocabulary and I'm glad you like my stories! I'm glad I never fail to put a smile on your face! :) Well, as promised, a new chapter and some more answers!  
**

**Keep an eye on one of the people in this chapter...just keep an eye on them.  
**

**They're important later.  
**

* * *

**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Chapter 3~**

"It says here that ever since 1674 this key has been in the Miller family. It has been handed down from generation to generation and strange happenings have been known to occur to every owner of the key. The owner of the key is always female and the strange happenings usually occur around their sixteenth birthday. Several known cases in the Miller family were Ginny Miller, Laurie Miller, and Yvette Miller," Jeanette read aloud from the glowing computer screen. Simon sat down next to her, scanning the page quickly.

"Click on the link to Ginny Miller," he murmured. Jeanette clicked on the name Ginny Miller, which was colored in blue, and it brought her to another page titled _Ginny Miller_.

"Ginny Miller," Simon read, "Ginny Miller was born on March 22nd, 1798. According to family tradition, a key was passed down to her from her grandmother Ruthie Miller. It was spray-painted orange. Ginny grew up surrounded by death of close family members. First her mother died, then her great aunt, followed by three uncles, her father, her grandfather, and her grandmother. She was raised until her early teens by one of her three surviving aunts. When she turned fifteen she began noticing strange events occurring. The first event was that the key she wore around her neck burned her on several occasions when she was in danger. This saved her life countless times. The second event is the discovery of a secret treehouse in the woods, found when the key glowed. The glow got brighter as she got closer. The third event is when she found her three friends, two females and one male, locked up in undergarments in a warehouse with no food or water after they had been kidnapped a few days prior."

"Ginny led a very dangerous and adventurous life, it seems," Jeanette commented softly, eyes never leaving the screen.

Simon nodded and continued.

"Afterward Ginny herself was taken and held hostage for two years, as the key had been taken away from her and she had no escape. Her captor was physically abusing her. One night when her captor was sleeping, the keys fell off of his belt and fell onto the floor. An orange mystical zone spread around the key, and began glowing around Ginny herself. She reached for the key, on the other end of the room, and it flew right into her hand. She escaped her cage by undoing the padlock with the key and made her way out of the room. She went back to the treehouse in the forest and lived there for fifty more years, with her family assuming she had died when police leads never went anywhere. When she returned mysteriously one day, she passed down the key to her niece Sylvia Miller. She stayed with her family for five more years and returned to the treehouse for ten more years. She visited her family, planning on staying for the weekend, after those ten years, where she passed away in her sleep on December 8, 1875," he finished.

"So this key, we already know, is magical," Jeanette commented, clutching it.

"We don't know for sure, Jean, but it seems that way. It says here this is according to stories passed down in the Miller family. The story was last passed down to a Rosemary Miller in 1979," Simon added. Jeanette's breath hitched.

"Rosemary…did you just say…Rosemary?"

"Yeah."

Jeanette swallowed.

"Rosemary was my mom's name. 1979…that was when she was fifteen…and we were born eighteen years later…in 1997," she said. She blinked back tears.

"I was told…after she died in 2000…that she knew I was special, and she helped pick out who out of me and my sisters was going to receive the key. She saw something in me, Si. She knew I had something Brittany and Eleanor didn't." Tears spilled over. Simon put his arm around Jeanette and pulled her close.

"Jean…it'll be alright. Shh, shh…Jean, it'll be okay!" Simon said. He rubbed her back as she cried onto his shoulder. He looked at the computer screen and closed out of the window. He got up from his seat, Jeanette standing up with him. Simon pushed in the chairs, and, keeping an arm around the distraught chipette, walked out of the library.

"Simon…all of those things that happened to Ginny…everything…what if something like that happens to me? What if they take my sisters…your brothers…me…YOU?" Jeanette bawled. Simon pulled her even closer as they walked down the street.

"Jean, I won't let that happen. Come on…stop crying. It'll be alright, I'll be by your side the whole time. Just calm down, Jeanette. You'll be okay. Just take deep breaths," he said, brushing away a few stray tears. Jeanette leaned closer to him, breathing in and out deeply to stop crying. And that was when she got another urge.

"Run Simon!" she screamed. Simon looked at her curiously when he heard gunfire behind him. He cursed under his breath and grabbed Jeanette's wrist. The two took off down the street as the gunman rapidly fired off shots in all directions. Jeanette suddenly dropped to the ground, pulling Simon down with her. Three bullets sailed over their heads. Jeanette crawled into a bush, and Simon quickly followed suit. Jeanette panted and Simon held her close to him.

"That was…exhilarating," he commented quietly. Jeanette slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut…up…," she hissed in a whisper, looking through the foliage for the gunman. He ran by the bush right then, still firing off shots psychotically. Jeanette breathed out a large breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and moved her hand off of Simon's mouth. Simon looked at her, and then down at the key.

"Jean!"

She looked down.

It was glowing.

**~Meanwhile~**

"Jeanette and Simon said that they were going to be here, up in the attic. Well, the door is shut and there's no noise up there. And, as we all know, Jeanette makes a lot of noise when she walks! Where on Earth could they be?" Brittany ranted, pacing back and forth in Eleanor's bedroom. Eleanor sat on her bed, brown eyes moving back and forth in time with her older sister.

"They're probably at the library or something, or on their way home. Relax, Brittany. Simon and Jeanette are nearly sixteen and they're very responsible. They'll be fine," she told the pink-clad chipette matter-of-factly.

"But what if they got into some trouble?"

"Oh, like what?"

"What if…what if they got kidnapped?"

"Brittany…"

"Think about it! You know that gunman that's on the loose?"

"Yeah…"

"What if they ran into him and since they're famous, he took them and he's holding them hostage and we're going to receive a ransom note any time now? Oh my GOSH, we need to go save them, El!"

"Brittany!"

Brittany shrugged and sat down on Eleanor's beanbag chair when the door to the room creaked. The two sisters looked to find Alvin standing there with Theodore.

"Can we come in?" Alvin asked. Eleanor nodded toward them and then eyed Alvin, whose hands were behind his back.

"Put. The Toy. Lightsaber. DOWN."

Alvin set down the plastic green blade on the floor and took a seat next to it. Theodore sat down on Eleanor's bed, next to the blonde chipette. Brittany looked at all of them, and then cleared her throat, grabbing their attention.

"I really do hope Simon and Jeanette are alright. They've never been away from home this long without letting us know where they are. They always call or text when they're going to come home late. Eleanor and I were coming up with theories, and what if they got kidnapped by that gunman and are being held for ransom due to their fame? Oh my gosh, I just thought of this…WHAT IF WE'RE NEXT?" she shouted in exasperation.

Alvin looked at her.

"Brittany, are you sure you don't need to be admitted to a mental hospital? They can fend for themselves. If I know Simon, he'll put up a fight to make sure Jeanette is safe, sound, and unharmed," he said.

"I don't trust her with him. Simon seems weak to me," Brittany immediately responded dismally.

"Brittany!" Theodore, Alvin, and Eleanor shouted at her.

"They're going to die."

"BRITTANY!"

**~Back with Simon and Jeanette~**

Simon looked around cautiously as he and Jeanette rounded the corner, the Chipette residence in their line of vision. There was no sign of the assailant from earlier.

"Let's make a run for it while we can. The faster we get to your house, the faster we get to safety," Simon told Jeanette. The bespectacled chipette nodded, and they both broke out sprinting toward the house. Simon pulled open the door and slammed it shut once Jeanette was inside. They thundered up the stairs and stopped when they heard voices coming from Eleanor's room. Simon pushed open the door to find everyone else sitting around talking.

"—And so, if they did get shot and killed, then I guess I'll just go all 'munk on the gunman," Alvin was saying.

"Um…we're alive?" Simon said questioningly from the doorway. Alvin turned around with a gasp and ran up, pulling his older brother into a man-hug.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"Alvin, we're okay," Simon said.

"Where have you guys been? You had me worried sick!" Brittany demanded.

"We went to the library and ran into a little bit of trouble. Nothing major, it was nothing to worry about," Jeanette responded. Brittany eyed her suspiciously.

"Why do you have tear stains on your face?"

Simon looked at her.

"It's time to come clean."

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Two updates in one day! Wow, I think that's my record for a fic like this. Ooh, wait, never mind…I think I did it in Whodunit. Anyway, this chapter was like a gap-filler setting up for bigger scenes coming in the next two or three chapters. Sorry for it being so short, but I hope you enjoyed it. So now we know the key is magical…but what is Jeanette going to have to go through? Hmm...see you in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Ahhh, summer feels so good! ...Unless, of course, you're the unlucky ones getting whacked by storm after storm. Hmm. Well, anyways, this is chapter 4. It _is_ longer than the last chapter, which I'm sure you'll all be ecstatic to hear. There are three big events in this chapter that will shape the big conflict in the story.  
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**As always we have the words to the ever-so-epic reviewers! Let's see what I have to say to them today, shall we?  
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**Ealasaid Una (Chapter 3 Review): Thank you! And their close "friendship" is something I enjoy writing very much!  
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**The Chipette Protector: No, I don't think Brittany will ever stop being a drama queen. But you gotta love her anyway, right? As for right now, nobody knows why the key was handed down through the Miller family. I believe, however, you shall find out in later chapters, so keep reading if you really want to know. Also, Jeanette still doesn't know what it's really for, and as for strange things happening to the bearer of the key...also to come.  
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**Water-Angel445: Yep...Brittany just loves to overreact, doesn't she? Jeanette is going to come clean! It's official! I don't know if this chapter qualifies as "awesome" but I guess you guys are the judges here!  
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**ChipmunksRule4Ever: Your idea was pretty good, CR4E! I might incorporate it later (and yes, I will give you the proper ownership of it)! As for the necklace being a key, I thought it being a key would be mysterious, and yes, it does have to do with something(s). Sorry that you have to go to camp for so long! Thanks for reviewing!  
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** RossLynchLUVR: Isn't Simon (almost) always right? XD And yup, I was the author of Whodunit, one of my most successful stories behind Life with the Chipettes. Thanks for loving Whodunit and now this! I have the time because it is, in fact, summer here, I don't have much to do or places to go, so, naturally, I have way too much time on my hands, I type too fast, I talk too fast, I have too many ideas, I ramble too much, I like banter, and where was I? Oh, yeah! It's summer, so that's the reasoning behind 2 updates in a day. I'm happy to hear that you're getting more update time in as well! The Simonette is so fun to write. And I understand the weirdness of "aww"ing out loud...it happens to all of us.  
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**Now, recap time! We learned about the history of one of Jeanette's ancestors, Ginny Miller. We also discovered that the Chipettes' mom died in 200 of unknown causes, and she had a hand in picking out which of her daughters was to receive the key, resulting in her having seen something in Jeanette. Jeanette also saved her life and Simon's because she sensed the gunman and knew when to run and drop to the ground and go in the bush. Brittany overreacted when Simon and Jeanette were late coming home from the library. Simon and Jeanette come home where they realize the others had thought they were taken/killed. Brittany notices Jeanette's tear stains and Simon decides they should come clean about it. This is where we left off.  
**

* * *

**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Chapter 4~**

"Jeanette, what's going on here? First you nearly get hit by a car, you weren't cold at all despite being in the pool only a second, and now you're home late and you've been crying," Eleanor said. Simon nodded at her.

"This key…we went to the library after finding a note in the attic from Great Aunt Dolores. We researched Miller family history and found out this key has been in the Miller family for generations and it seems to have been spray-painted every time. We looked at one of the famous memories, from our ancestor Ginny Miller, and it turns out her story was last passed down to our mom, and our mom had a hand in figuring out which one of us was going to get this key. It didn't go by grandma-mom-daughter, it was all sporadic, because I got it from Great Aunt Dolores and Ginny got it from her grandma Ruthie Miller. This key is magical, by Ginny's story," Jeanette said.

The others were speechless, until Brittany opened her mouth.

"She's pulling one over on us," she decided. Jeanette's mouth fell agape, as did Simon's.

"I was there! She's not joking! Jeanette, show them the note," Simon said. Jeanette reached into her pocket and immediately went pale.

"Simon…it's not in here."

Simon gasped.

"What? It has to be! Oh no, we must have dropped it when we were running from that gunman, or we left it at the library," Simon said.

"Oh please, you guys can stop the shenanigans. I don't believe you. Come on, guys, we're out of here," Brittany said, leaving the room. Alvin and Theodore followed, Eleanor reluctantly standing by the door. She shut it and locked it as soon as they were out of the room. She sat down on her bed and looked at Simon and Jeanette.

"I seem to be the only one who believes you guys," Eleanor said. She looked up at them with pursed lips before talking again.

"Jeanette, you said Mom was the last one to receive the story. Well…now, I am. Mom told me all three memorable cases; I know about Ginny, I know about Laurie, and I know about Yvette. I'm not sure if I was supposed to tell you I know, but I know. I think I'm supposed to help you out on this," the blonde said, meeting her sister's gaze. Jeanette looked at her.

"The letter told me I was supposed to bring a companion on this journey to endure all of this. Eleanor…maybe Great Aunt Dolores meant to bring you with me," she said. Eleanor nodded in agreement.

"Considering we're both sisters and we're getting a very deep look at family history, I'd say that's a very good idea to put us together on this. After all, you know things I don't and I know things you don't, most likely," she said. Jeanette and Eleanor began to converse. Simon furtively slipped out the door, but neither of the sisters paid him any mind anyway. He walked down the stairs and went out the front door, back to his house. Hurt was evident in his expression as he sat down on the porch and put his head in his hands.

"Don't be hurt, Si. They're sisters, and this is their family history. Let them be the companions on this…just let them work together. It was never meant for you to be the one to help her out," he muttered to himself. The wind blew, startling the chipmunk. He looked up. The skies were noticeably darker compared to earlier and it was much colder than it was this afternoon when they got out of school.

"It looks like it's about to storm."

Simon looked up to see Theodore standing there. Simon moved over to make a space for Theodore to sit next to him on the porch.

"Hey Theo. Are you okay? You look kind of down," Simon said, noticing Theodore's lack of his usual chipper attitude. Theodore sighed and put his head in his left hand, propping his left elbow on his knee.

"I really didn't want to walk out on Eleanor, you, and Jeanette. But Alvin and Brittany were giving me these looks as they went out, like they would be mad at me if I didn't follow them. I'm sorry, Si. I actually believed you," the green-eyed chipmunk explained. Simon sighed.

"Theodore, who on Earth cares what Alvin and Brittany think, okay? You don't need to listen to them. They're just jealous that this special thing isn't happening to them, but instead to their younger siblings. Theodore, you can do whatever you want, okay?" Simon reassured his little brother. He gave him a pat on the back. Theodore grinned up at him and the brothers were interrupted by a large flash of lightning accompanied by a loud rumble of thunder.

"We'd better get inside," Simon said. Theodore pulled open the front door when the brothers heard a scream.

"That sounded like Alvin," Theodore said. Simon and Theodore whirled around to see the gunman down the street, grabbing Alvin and stuffing him in a knapsack.

"He's being kidnapped!" Simon shouted.

"That's the gunman who attacked you and Jeanette earlier! Oh my gosh!" Theodore shouted. Simon took off running down the street toward the gunman. Theodore could only cower in fear on the porch and duck behind the chair as rain started to fall. Simon was running across the street when a bang was heard. Theodore's eyes shot wide open and he peered over the chair to see the gunman futilely trying to hit Simon.

"Simon!" Theodore shouted. Simon turned around.

"Theodore, stay there!" he yelled. This gave the gunman enough time to shoot at Simon and it him in the hand. Simon screamed in pain as the bullet ripped through his hand. Theodore screamed out loud, as well, and tore across the street. He knelt down beside his brother, who was clutching his hand as blood seeped out of the wound.

"Go get the Chipettes, Theo. Go get them now," Simon instructed through harsh breathing. Theodore reluctantly ran to the house, shouting for the Chipettes. They came outside only a minute later. Jeanette gasped at the sight of Simon hunched over with the blood pouring out from his hand onto his other one.

"Simon! What happened?" she gasped out.

"The gunman…kidnapped Alvin and stuffed…him in a sack. I came…running…and I turned around…and got shot in the hand…and then…the gunman left," Simon breathed. Jeanette took out her phone and dialed 9-1-1. Simon continued to clutch his bad hand with his good one to keep pressure on the bleeding.

"9-1-1, hello, this is Jeanette Miller, and I'm here at 1960 Sunshine Road. My friend has been shot in the hand and is bleeding, and the shooter kidnapped his brother," Jeanette said into the phone. She could be heard going "Mmhmm" a few times before finally ending the call.

"They're on their way, Simon. Just hang tight," the chipette said. Simon said nothing, but continued to clutch his hand. Brittany sighed.

"So…Alvin got taken. Now there are only five of us," Brittany said. She tried to hide the disappointment and upset in her voice and began to look at her nails to distract herself. Eleanor rolled her eyes at her sister's attitude and listened for sirens. After five minutes she could hear the wailing of an ambulance coming around the corner, the lights flashing as well.

Paramedics jumped out of the back and grabbed a stretcher to put Simon on.

"Can I please ride with him? He needs me right now!" Jeanette asked one of the paramedics. The paramedic looked at her and sighed.

"Hop in."

Jeanette went into the back of the ambulance.

"We'll be bringing him to Laurie J. M. Memorial Hospital," the paramedics told the teens, "Is there any other adult around?" Brittany shook her head.

"Our guardian Miss Miller is at work and so is Simon's guardian Dave."

The paramedic nodded and pulled out a phone.

"Can one of you give me this Dave's number?"

Theodore gave the paramedic Dave's number and the paramedic made the call.

**~A Few Hours Later~**

The bandages on Simon's hand had a few stains of red on them from the blood, as far as Jeanette could see. She sighed and looked at Simon's face. He was slowly coming to from the anesthesia, blue-gray eyes fluttering open. The first thing she could see is that for a second or two, he couldn't comprehend where he was.

"You're in the hospital, Si. You got shot in the hand by that gunman who kidnapped Alvin," Jeanette told him. Simon let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back into the pillow.

"I've got to get out of here so we can find him. I'm not going to let my brother be kidnapped while I'm in the hospital. There's no shot at that happening!" he protested. Jeanette put a hand on his shoulder.

"Simon…it happened already. Just relax here, okay? I'm sure the police will find him since they already have loads of people on the lookout for that gunman. Don't worry about it and don't beat yourself up over it. We're international rock stars, may I remind you? We'll also have tons of fans looking for him as well. They should get a lead on him soon," she said optimistically.

"I hope so," Simon responded, looking at his hand and sighing deeply. Jeanette squeezed his shoulder.

"It'll be alright."

"Simon Seville, you have some more visitors," a nurse said, pushing open the door to reveal Dave, Theodore, Eleanor, and Brittany standing there. Dave looked flabbergasted at Simon's state, not to mention the fact that he knew Alvin had been kidnapped. His hair was a mess, his tie was undone, and his dress shoes from work were littered with scuff marks. Simon and Jeanette exchanged glances as Dave began to mutter things quickly to himself.

"Err…uh…you okay there, Dave?" Simon finally piped up. Dave leaned against the doorframe.

"I'm just glad you're not that badly injured. You have to wear bandages on your hand for two days and they're going to keep you overnight for observation," he said, running a hand through his hair.

"He's still worried about Alvin, though," Theodore whispered to Simon. Simon nodded as Dave went out in the hallway to talk to the nurses. Brittany sat down in a chair and grabbed a magazine. Tear stains were obvious around her eyes. Jeanette shook her head at her older sister.

"You're still afraid to admit those feelings for Alvin, aren't you?" the brunette asked out loud. Brittany looked up, cheeks flushing red.

"I don't h-have feelings for him!" Brittany shouted. Simon shook his head with a smirk.

"Oh, that's too bad," he said. Brittany glared at him.

"Oh? And why's that, smartypants?" she retorted.

"He told me the other day that he maybe, _possibly_ had some kind of romantic feelings toward you. But it's not that you care, because you have no feelings for him. Go ahead, live that way," Simon said. Brittany dropped her magazine.

"He likes me?" she asked nervously, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Yeah, too bad you don't like him."

Jeanette could only shake her head as Brittany squealed out loud.

* * *

**Hmm, so, let's recap this chapter. Jeanette and Simon came clean and Brittany, Alvin, and seemingly Theodore didn't believe them. Eleanor did believe them and revealed that she was the next one passed down the family history, and she and Jeanette believe that they are the companions Dolores spoke of. Simon feels rejected because he had started with Jeanette and was being replaced. He goes home where Theodore admits he believed them. It starts to thunderstorm, Alvin is kidnapped by the gunman, and Simon is shot in the hand and has to stay in the hospital for two days. A possible romance is brewing for Alvin and Brittany. What could possibly be next for them?**

**Will they find Alvin?**

**Will more people get kidnapped?**

**Will Jeanette find a magical use for this key that she can use?**

**Why am I asking you this when I know all the answers?**

**Review and I'll see you in chapter 5!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Oh my gosh, I am so sorry I haven't updated faster! I had writer's block and at the same time I'm writing something on FictionPress. Sorry guys! But I finally have it done - chapter 5! It's longer than the other chapters, so you should be very, very pleased to hear that. Some information is finally being revealed in this chapter.  
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**As usual, it's time to talk to my lovely reviewers, who have been waiting patiently for a new chapter!  
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**RossLynchLUVR: Thanks for the awesomely-randomly-epically written review on the last chapter! And I know...poor Si. Now that I think about it...in every SxJ fic...he's usually the one who ends up getting hurt. Hmm. I'll have to do something about that later. Jeanette would always be there to comfort him. And the Brittany part wasn't intentionally done as humor until I posted it...so thanks! Here's chapter 5!  
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**MarioBoy10 (Chapter 2 Review): No, they aren't going to get stranded somewhere. I've overused the idea. And yes, Brittany can be cruel. She should not have pushed Jeanette into the pool like that. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!  
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**MarioBoy10 (Chapter 3 Review): Speechlessness means it was awesome...right? And I meant to avoid the December 8th date! I guess it was on my mind to avoid it that I ended up putting it in. Oh well.  
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**MarioBoy10 (Chapter 4 Review): I told you about it that morning? Really? Well, whatever! I like that you think it's interesting and that it's a great story so far!  
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**The Chipette Protector: About the key giving Jeanette some kind of power...that will come in these coming chapters, I'll give you that. About what the gunman wants with Alvin, that's answered right in this very chapter, my friend! About the evil force that may/may not want the key/the key's holder, that will also be coming soon. Simon and Jeanette believing in magic? That's when they couldn't explain why the key glowed every single time they were put in danger. Thanks for reviewing, and here are some of your answers!  
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**Karenkook: Yeah, Brittany's too stubborn. I guess maybe she wants Alvin to come out with it first. Whatever it is, she loves him either way. Jeanette: I WILL STAY STRONG! I WILL STAY STRONG JUST FOR YOU!  
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**Ealasaid Una: Jeanette is and isn't okay with what's going on. She's okay with the fact that the boy her sister loves actually does love her back, and she isn't okay with Alvin being taken, Simon being in the hospital, and her fate with the key still very much unknown.  
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**Jeanette M (Chapter 1 Review): Yep. People are just not nice people.  
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**Recap time of the last chapter!  
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**Jeanette and Simon come clean about what happened in the library and on the way home. Eleanor is the only one who believes them and reveals that in reality, she is the last one that Ginny Miller's history got passed down to. Eleanor and Jeanette believe they are the companions Great Aunt Dolores spoke of. Simon feels rejected and goes home. He and Theodore are then talking on the porch when Alvin gets kidnapped, and Simon is shot in the hand. We found out Alvin and Brittany do like each other and Simon is in the hospital. This is where the story stands.  
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**As always, read and review!  
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* * *

**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Chapter 5~**

"Alright you creep, who are you, what on Earth do you want with me of all of the other random people in the world you could have kidnapped off of the street, and what's with that note?" Alvin demanded as he stood up behind the bars of his cell. The gunman, still in the mask he was wearing all day, sat at a table scanning over the note. Alvin cleared his throat and tried again.

"Dude! What's with that note, and why did you have to kidnap me of all people to kidnap?" the capped chipmunk asked again, banging on the steel bars. The gunman finally looked up at the chipmunk, dark eyes narrowing behind the mask.

"You will tell me the information that I want from you, or you will receive physical and mental torture to get it out of you. The egotistical ones are the easiest to break," the gunman responded. Alvin glared.

"You didn't answer my question. Why me? Why do you have that stupid letter?" he shouted, crossing his arms. The gunman grinned devilishly, making Alvin uneasy. The chipmunk didn't show his fear, however, as the gunman held up a photo.

"Do you know her?" he asked. Alvin stuck his nose in the air.

"I will not answer that. That is not a no, that is not a yes."

The gunman sent an electric shock through the bars. Unfortunately for Alvin, he just so happened to be leaning against them. He yelped and jumped back as electricity shot through his body for a few seconds.

"Fine! Fine! I know her! That's Jeanette Miller!" he shouted with a grimace.

"Good. Now what do you know about the key around her neck in this picture?" the gunman asked.

"Who are you to be asking these questions on Jeanette? You can't make me answer! That's it! I refuse! I know nothing about that key because my brother and Jeanette's sisters are the ones who pay the most attention to her! My other brother and I could care less!" Alvin shouted, not realizing he had let out information vital for the gunman's search. The gunman smirked and laughed. He turned to walk out of the room, dropping the temperature ten degrees.

**~Next Day~**

"They still haven't found him yet, have they? Ugh, I need to get out of here!" Those were the first words out of Simon's mouth the minute Jeanette came to see him the next morning. He put his head in his good hand and let out a frustrated sigh. Jeanette looked at him.

"Simon, they'll find him soon, if not sooner," she tried to reassure him. Simon shook his head.

"All of those missing cases I read about online go unsolved for years before they decide to leave it a cold case. The same thing is going to end up happening to Alvin if we don't do something about it! We need to go search for him, now!" he told the brunette-haired chipette. Jeanette shook her head at him and squeezed his shoulder.

"Just let the police handle this Simon."

"Alright…what if someone else gets kidnapped?"

"Then we look. But that's not going to happen, now, is it?"

"It could."

Jeanette ran a hand through her hair and looked up out the window. It was sunny and noticeably cooler out than yesterday. Birds sang their songs as golden rays of light streamed into the room. The brunette chipette got up from her seat and paced around the room wordlessly. Simon closed his eyes.

"Jean," he said, "I don't mean to insult you or worry you here. But what if another one of them does go missing? You said we'll look for them. But if another one doesn't go missing, I suppose we won't look. What about Alvin then? What if his case turns into a cold case?"

Jeanette fell silent.

"Jean, as soon as I get out of this hospital room, the remaining five of us are going to go around and look for Alvin whether you like it or not." Jeanette turned around to face him.

"Simon, when you get out of the hospital, there's still the possibility of reopening your wound!" she said. Simon sighed.

"Jean…"

"Don't 'Jean' me! Simon, listen, I miss Alvin too, but I don't want you to get hurt either," Jeanette said. She leaned her head against the wall, back to Simon.

"Then you're going to look for him without me. If I weigh you down that much, then I'll stay home and you'll go find Alvin yourselves. I'm not going to let my injury keep us from finding him," Simon piped up from his bed. He waited for Jeanette to say something else. The quiet chipette groaned slightly.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

Simon shook his head. Jeanette groaned again.

"Fine…"

**~Alvin~**

"Tell me. Who are her sisters?"

"You…can't…you can't make…me…me talk."

"Can't I now?" The gunman pushed a button on his remote. Alvin received a shock from the shock collar he was wearing. He glared up at the gunman.

"I'm not…gonna talk…"

The gunman turned the setting higher and pushed the button again. Alvin yelped in pain.

"Their names are Brittany and Eleanor!"

The gunman smiled at him. Alvin looked on warily.

"Tell me, Alvin, what are your brothers' names?"

The glint of the remote sitting in the gunman's hand, the intensity dial within easy reach, made Alvin uneasy.

"Their names are Simon and Theodore."

The gunman smiled and turned off the shock collar. He ripped it away from Alvin's neck and walked out of the room. Alvin slumped against the wall, heavy with fatigue. He looked around the room, wishing there was a window or something to look out of.

_Or break out of,_ the chipmunk thought to himself. Before he could doze off for some much-desired sleep, the chipmunk heard voices. Alvin listened hard in the dead-silent room.

"I'm instructing you to go find one of Jeanette's sisters. Go find her and bring her to me. If you have to use force, use it."

"Oh no," Alvin muttered.

**~Later That Afternoon, Local Park~**

"We need to find Alvin. Simon can't help us, because his wound could very well reopen while we're looking and he could get an infection," Jeanette said to everyone as they sat around a picnic table.

"Yeah, so what's your plan, Jean? What do you have in mind?" Brittany asked.

"Well, I was thinking we could split up. Brittany and I could go together and Theodore and Eleanor will go together. Simon is going to stay home and keep researching the gunman. We're all going to have walky-talkies and communicate with each other. Brittany and I would stake out the park, around here, on this south end of town, while Theodore and Eleanor go toward the community pool on the north end of town," Jeanette explained to everyone.

"What if one of us gets kidnapped again?" Eleanor asked.

"We're not going to let that happen, okay? Just stay with your partner and nothing should happen. Just in case, I recommend someone in each pair carry around a baseball bat and a backpack with some stuff to help you escape," Jeanette answered.

"Alright then, sounds good to me," Theodore said.

The group went back to their houses to get things ready.

Fifteen minutes later, they all met up in the middle of the street between their houses.

"Alright guys, be careful on this, okay?" Simon said, looking at all of them, "I don't want anything else happening to you." Everyone agreed and began to break off.

"Jean?" he said before she and Brittany could get far.

"Britt, hold on," Jeanette said. Brittany smirked at her and turned away, digging through the pack to pass the time as the purple-clad chipette walked up to Simon.

"Y-Yeah Si?" she asked.

"Be really, really careful. I'm counting on you to make it back to me. But if you happen to get taken…I've loved you…for a while now…just remember that, okay?" Simon responded nervously, looking at the ground. Jeanette seemed oddly calm about the situation. Suddenly Simon felt her embrace him.

"I love you too, Simon…I'll make it back to you, I promise."

Simon kissed her on the forehead as she let go, and he watched her walk down the road with Brittany. Pangs of worry hit him like bullets. _She'll be fine, Simon…after all, she has that key. That key will warn her about danger coming to herself and others…_

**~With Brittany and Jeanette~**

"You two finally confessed your love for each other, didn't you?" Brittany said as they walked back into the park. It was eerily empty, unlike earlier when it was full of people there.

"This isn't looking too promising, Jean," Brittany said. Jeanette nodded in agreement. And then she felt a searing pain on her chest, right where the key was. It was glowing a dark red. Jeanette pulled it off of her skin to see a small red mark on her chest in the shape of the key. She looked at Brittany.

"Britt," she said, "I wasn't joking about the key."

Brittany turned and saw the key glowing.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed.

"We're in danger here. We need to run, now," Jeanette said. Before Brittany could say anything, Jeanette grabbed her wrist and pulled her along. They sprinted through the various play objects and jungle gyms until they came to a small area of tall trees. "Get in the tree, now," Jeanette said, beginning to climb it. Brittany followed her up and they rested in a small area shaped just right where they could sit.

"Why did we need to run?" Brittany asked her.

Gunshots answered her question.

"Good point," Brittany whispered. Jeanette rolled her eyes and put a finger to her lips to signal Brittany to be quiet. The two girls peered through the leaves to see a gunman carrying around an empty burlap sack. Brittany leaned over more, and then it happened.

She toppled out of the tree.

"Brittany!" Jeanette yelped, jumping down and landing in the grass next to her. The gunman towered over them, holding the sleek, black weapon and aiming it at them. Jeanette gulped and looked up to see the gunman seemed interested in the key. Jeanette looked over at Brittany. The gunman wasn't paying much attention to the pink-clad chipette. Brittany got up silently and grabbed the baseball bat.

Just as the gunman was about to lunge for Jeanette, Brittany swung the bat, and hit the gunman over the head.

"Run!" Brittany shrieked as the gunman fell to the ground, slipping in and out of consciousness. Jeanette scrambled to her feet, grabbed the backpack, and ran, Brittany behind her with the bat still in her hands. Jeanette grabbed the walky-talky.

"Simon, Simon! Come in Simon, would you?"

_"Jean?"_ came the fuzzy response.

"Simon, we just had a run-in with another gunman. Brittany managed to hit him over the head hard enough to give us an escape, but he seemed to be interested in my key," Jeanette said.

_"What? Jean, you need to get as far away from there as you can!"_ Simon responded.

"We're working on it! I have to go!" Jeanette said, sliding the walky-talky back in her pocket.

"We need to hit the beach. It's close. There should be people there so we should easily blend in with the crowd," Brittany said. Jeanette agreed and the two girls turned down a side street and slowed their pace.

"That was close. We were nearly caught," Jeanette said.

"I know. I wonder how Theodore and Eleanor are faring," Brittany agreed.

**~Meanwhile~**

"Eleanor, what if we don't find him?" Theodore asked.

"Keep optimistic and keep searching," Eleanor responded.

"Alright…"

The pair walked along in silence, unsure of what to say to each other next. Theodore, who was carrying the pack on his back and the walky-talky in his pocket, looked around at all of the scenery as the two made their way down to the pool. Eleanor, on the other hand, was carrying the baseball bat, swinging it around ever-so-cautiously in case of a sudden attack. She was sweating a little, from the nervousness and the heat of the day. It matted her blonde bangs to her forehead, and her normally voluminous pigtails hung limply.

"I'm worried about him."

Eleanor looked over at Theodore, whose face was downcast.

"I am too. But the sooner we find him, the sooner he's safe and sound," she responded, trying to lighten the dreary mood.

"What if they're hurting him? Torturing him? I hate seeing Alvin in pain. I know when he masks pain with an overblown ego. He does it a lot. He hurts on the inside. The most comes from seeing Simon, Jeanette, you, me, and especially Brittany getting hurt. That, or Brittany with another guy. So who knows what they're doing to him there?" Theodore explained thoughtfully, looking up at the sky to search for some answer. Eleanor could only sigh and turn to face her counterpart.

"Theodore," she said, putting a halt to her walking, "We'll find him. We'll put those people who are hurting him in jail. We'll get him back home, all safe and sound. Don't you worry about a thing," Eleanor said. Out of the corner of her eye she could see someone lunging for Theodore.

"Move Theo!" she shouted.

That was the last thing before her world fell black.

Theodore gasped in horror from his spot on the ground, where Eleanor pushed him out of the way, as a frying pan came crashing down on Eleanor. A burlap sack was thrown over her, and she was taken away before he could react. The only thing left in her place was a baseball bat.

"Eleanor!" he yelled. But her kidnapper was already getting away in a van.

Theodore sank to his knees.

"First Alvin…then Eleanor. Two of the people I'd been closest to…"

He grabbed his walky-talky.

"Simon," he said in a shaky voice, "I'm coming home."

_"Why?"_

"They got Eleanor."

Simon could be heard spitting water across the room.

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun!**

**You know what time it is…**

**RECAP TIME!**

**Okay, so, we know they're torturing Alvin to get information out of him, and it's about Jeanette and that key she's been wearing for all of these years. Simon and Jeanette have reached an agreement; Jeanette, Brittany, Eleanor, and Theodore will go off and look for Alvin while Simon stays home and researches the kidnapper/gunman. Jeanette and Brittany are attacked by someone and he almost gets Jeanette. They manage to get away and are headed toward the beach. Eleanor and Theodore were attacked and unfortunately, Eleanor was captured. This is where we stand.**

**So, who do you think is next to be kidnapped? **

**Why on Earth do they care so much about the key that's been in the Miller family for generations?**

**Why don't they just go for Jeanette right at once instead of taking her loved ones first?**

**All of these answers and more coming up in the next few chapters!**

**See you guys in chapter 6!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Heya, it's ChipetteGirl10 here! I'm bringing you Chapter 6 of LOCKED UP!  
**

**Okay, so, this is getting heated up, and not to spoil anything, but get ready to head back to school, because it's time to learn some HISTORY! Miller family history, that is.  
**

**Of course, there are two things we must do first, that we always do.  
**

**First of the first two things, the words to our reviewers.  
**

**RossLynchLUVR: Yay for love confessions! They're not officially dating, it's like one step off from dating...like seeing each other-ish or something like that. Thanks for calling it cute, and I like 1D too! Niall Horan all the way!  
**

**Water-Angel445: I know, why Eleanor? Hmm, well, some people just don't have good luck. The odds are _not_ in her favor, today. If you thought that last chapter was interesting, check out this. And you wanted to know why they wanted the key...you're about to find out.  
**

**MarioBoy10: OMG STOP READING MY EMAILS! In case you didn't get it, that was a Shake It Up reference...where Gunther guesses everything right...SHOOT. Oh, and it might be Brittany, it might not be. Read this to find out.  
**

**Okay, recap time!  
**

**Last time, in LOCKED UP:  
**

******Okay, so, we know they're torturing Alvin to get information out of him, and it's about Jeanette and that key she's been wearing for all of these years. Simon and Jeanette have reached an agreement; Jeanette, Brittany, Eleanor, and Theodore will go off and look for Alvin while Simon stays home and researches the kidnapper/gunman. Jeanette and Brittany are attacked by someone and he almost gets Jeanette. They manage to get away and are headed toward the beach. Eleanor and Theodore were attacked and unfortunately, Eleanor was captured. This is where we stand.**

******So, now, read on!  
**

* * *

**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Chapter 6~**

Alvin groaned and woke up. The room was much colder than it had been yesterday. The chipmunk quaked in his red sweatshirt, black jeans, and red converse sneakers. His red cap kept his head warm, but he was still cold. He looked around the room, and the gunman was nowhere to be found. That was, until, the red-clad chipmunk heard the door unlocking. There was a groaning noise and another slightly moving burlap sack was being dragged in. The cell door next to his was opened and none other than the brown-eyed Eleanor Miller tumbled onto the cold concrete floors. The cell door slammed loudly and locked.

"Eleanor?" Alvin said in disbelief. The chipette groaned loudly and turned over to look through the bars dividing her cell and Alvin's.

"I found you. Great. Now I just need to find a way to get the others here," Eleanor said despondently, leaning against the wall.

Alvin sighed.

"Do you know how the others are faring?" he asked the blonde chipette.

"I don't know, really. Simon was at home because when he tried to get to you, the gunman shot him in the hand, so he researched from the house. Jeanette and Brittany were off at the other end of town near the park, while Theodore and I were near the pool. The gunman almost had Theodore, so I pushed him out of the way," Eleanor explained to Alvin.

"It's good to know that you're watching out for him. He worries me, a lot."

The door creaked back open to reveal the gunman standing there with two shock collars and one remote.

"What's with the one remote? I thought there would be two!" Alvin said. The gunman smirked.

"I synced them both with this one. If one of you refuses to answer, I will shock both of you at once, and the one whose turn it wasn't to answer receives more pain than the one who was," the gunman explained, fastening the collars around their neck. Alvin and Eleanor looked at each other and gulped, and then looked back at the deranged man.

"Now, Eleanor," the gunman started, taking the chipette by surprise.

"How do you know my name?" she interrupted demandingly. The gunman pushed the button and Eleanor was shocked fairly harshly, and Alvin received what looked like twice the pain. The chipmunk leaned against the wall as the shocking pain seared through his body. Eleanor bit her lip and looked up at the gunman, who was glaring at both of them.

"Now, Eleanor, let's try this again, without any interruptions. You wouldn't want to hurt him further, now, do you?" Eleanor bit her lip to keep her mouth shut.

"I have found out through…well, I can't call it an anonymous source, really, since it's quite obvious…but I have found out through Alvin that the family history on Ginny Miller, Laurie Miller, and Yvette Miller was passed down to you. Is he correct, or does he receive a shock?"

Eleanor looked at Alvin, who was staggering to stand upright.

"It is correct," she mumbled, looking at the ground. The gunman smiled.

"Good, my dear."

Eleanor sent a glare in his direction but managed not to say anything offending.

"Now, unlike you, Jeanette is not aware of her powers or the full capacity of the powers the key holds. Correct?"

"Correct," Eleanor mumbled again.

"Do you know who I am?" the gunman asked her.

"No," Eleanor responded quietly.

"Do you remember the kidnappers of Ginny Miller, Laurie Miller, and Yvette Miller?"

"Yes. In correspondence they were Vincent Artigo, Arturo Artigo, and Ben Artigo," Eleanor said to him. The gunman smirked at her, driving the stake of fear into her heart.

"Well then, I am Hector Artigo," the gunman told her. Eleanor's eyes widened.

"Y-Y-You're one of the Seven Kompaniyos! You're one of those people who are able to do dark magic! I-If you take her key, then you'll have full control of it and can duplicate it to destroy the entire world!" she exclaimed. Alvin, who was languidly lying on the ground, gasped out loud.

"Don't say anything Alvin," Eleanor warned him. Alvin closed his mouth.

"Yes, my dear. And your dear sister Jeanette is one of the Seven Magesticaniyas, those who use the key for light and good. There is only one key for them, because only one of them can handle the power of it responsibly. That key, in the light side, can only be used by the nurturing female. If on the dark side, only a man can use it. This is because of a trade done many years ago between the Artigo and Miller family," Hector told the two of them.

"What trade? I'm so confused right now. And this whole light side and dark side thing sounds like you're just putting a spin on _Star Wars_," Alvin said. Hector ignored the comment.

"In 1598, the Artigos and Millers were very close families. The Artigos had found a key with writings that nobody could decipher and kept it for a very long time. Only the males found any use of it and they spent a lot of time mixing many chemicals, trying to make some sort of magic potion for world domination. Nobody realized the key had fallen into the potion and received it's gold coloring. Without second-guessing it, as a Christmas present, they gave it to Claudia Miller, who spray painted it and handed it down to her niece, and it got spray painted over each time it got handed down. Along the way the powers were discovered, and the Artigos soon wanted the key back and terrorized the Miller family. That was when seven 'Chosen Ones' so to speak were picked in each family, by the one member who could see into the future," Hector explained.

"Are you sure you're not twisting up some story and adding some _Star Wars _to it?" Alvin said. Hector rolled his eyes and pressed the shock button, sending a small shock through Alvin and Eleanor.

"Anyway, those seven in the Miller family were Ginny Miller, Laurie Miller, Yvette Miller, Piper Miller, Jeanette Miller, Julia Miller, and December Miller," Hector explained.

"Julia Miller and December Miller haven't existed yet," Eleanor said curiously.

"The legacy of the Miller family, married or not, will live past Jeanette, I tell you. But it will be Jeanette's offspring that will bear the key," Hector explained.

"Jeanette and Simon will know about this soon," Alvin muttered with amusement, crossing his arms. That cost him and Eleanor another shock.

"Alvin, just keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking!" Eleanor snapped. She turned back to Hector.

"Who were the seven picked in the Artigo family?"

"Vincent Artigo, Arturo Artigo, Ben Artigo, Jose Artigo, myself, Diego Artigo, and Roscoe Artigo will be the seven that will be on the case of the Miller family. I, Diego, and Roscoe are going to be on the case of the three remaining key bearers, in other words, Jeanette, Julia, and December," Hector explained.

Eleanor glared at him.

**~Meanwhile~**

Jeanette sprinted down the road with Brittany in tow a few yards behind her. She was racing toward the Seville house as Theodore came up the other end of the street. Simon sat on the porch swing fidgeting nervously.

"They got Eleanor?" Jeanette said in disbelief as she reached the porch. Simon solemnly nodded.

"Theodore radioed in to me about it ten minutes ago, and now here he comes," Simon said.

Theodore came running over to them, followed by Brittany. Both were panting.

"Jean…you run too fast," Brittany said. Jeanette rolled her eyes.

"They got Eleanor. I can't believe it. They were about to grab me when Eleanor shoved me out of the way and got herself caught," Theodore said.

"Theo, they must have wanted Eleanor. Even though Eleanor pushed you out of the way, they went for her. If they really had wanted you, they would have shoved Eleanor out of the way and taken you, instead. There must be something they needed Eleanor for, not you," Simon said.

"No, they can't possibly want to do anything with her! She's too innocent!" Theodore said. Simon put a hand on his baby brother's shoulder.

"Theodore, there's a possibility they will. But you need to be strong about this for Eleanor, okay?" he told Theodore. Theodore nodded.

"Well, now what do we do? We can't split up again because then we'll need to go alone and that's even worse," Brittany said.

"Yeah," Jeanette agreed, "If we go alone we could get caught. The only reason I'm still not caught yet is because Brittany whacked the gunman after us with a baseball bat on the head!"

"Then I'm coming with Theodore. That's final, no buts," Simon said.

"Simon, you'll reopen the bullet hole!"

"I'll risk it," Simon told her, "I'll risk it for my family." He pulled the other three into a group huddle.

"Alright, here's the plan guys. Theodore and I are going to head down to the playground this time. You guys will head up by the pool, since it's safer over there," Simon said.

"Si, the gunman Brittany knocked out is probably still near there, and now I'm wary of going to the pool. Yes, in books, once you find someone somewhere that means nobody will go near there, but in reality they do. But think about this, what if the person following us knows this and decides to go there, anyway? Brittany and I were going to head to the beach, and I think we should, just to be safe," Jeanette explained.

"Alright," Simon agreed after contemplation.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Brittany asked, beginning to walk off. Jeanette followed her down toward the beach. She waved good-bye to Simon and turned back around. Simon sighed as he watched her leave and then looked back at Theodore.

"You know, the park is that way, so we need to follow them, right?" Theodore asked him. He nodded.

"I know. But let's wait a bit."

"Simon, are you worried about Jeanette? Do you not want to be traumatized or something by seeing her taken?" Theodore asked. Simon nodded again.

"I just don't want to see her get hurt, Theodore. I know she's fifteen, almost sixteen, and I know she has that key. But still, she was always tripping over her own two feet during our childhood and she was always quite…well…fragile, physically. Her mental power was pretty decent, but I really don't want to see her go through that, Theo! It's like how you feel about Eleanor," he explained.

Theodore sighed.

"She'll be okay, now let's get going," he said. But then the roaring of an engine filled their ears. The boys turned to see a black van coming straight at them.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! **

**I think we all know what's coming next.**

**Uh-oh, who do you think is going to be gone by the next chapter?**

**OMG, the some more of the family history is revealed to you guys!**

**Now, you must be wondering…still…WHY NOT JUST GO FOR JEANETTE LIKE THAT ONE GUY TRIED IN THE LAST CHAPTER?**

**Well…use common sense, knowledge, and the family history. **

**Now, recap time! Long chapter, long two events!**

**Eleanor is brought into the cell room with Alvin. She and Alvin are interrogated by the gunman. The big family history is pretty much revealed to her and Alvin. Meanwhile, Jeanette, Brittany, Simon, and Theodore regroup and decide to split up again. This time Brittany and Jeanette head off for the beach like they originally intended. Simon and Theodore were about to go to the park when a black van came roaring down the street, right at them.**

**This is where we currently stand.**

**Drop a comment with your thoughts and ideas and I'll see you guys in chapter 7!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, and welcome back to the rollercoaster that is Locked Up. Things are heating up!  
**

**Thanks for reviewing, you guys, and now here are my words to each individual reviewer, as usual!  
**

**Guest 1: Let me explain why I left out Rosemary Miller, I think it may have confused people. You see, though there have been more than 7 key bearers, those 7 are supposed to be the greatest key bearers in Miller family history. Rosemary Miller herself never actually had the key in her possession, since it skips around a lot of generations. She was one of the others chosen not to bear the key, but to bear the family history and pass it down. She passed it down to Eleanor, and then she decided that while Eleanor knew the family history, it was Jeanette who would receive the actual key. I hope this clears things up.  
**

**RossLynchLUVR: I know! It's sad that they're all getting kidnapped right when Jeanette needs them the most, but that's how it goes. I know you're wondering who it's going to be, and this chapter, usually lucky number 7 (which probably isn't going to be considered so "lucky" after this), is full of surprises. Thanks for thinking this is fabulous, and Harry _does_ have awesome hair.  
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**MarioBoy10: Oh my gosh, for once...well I can't tell you if you're right or wrong. You have to read this chapter. But good guess! You're about to find out!  
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**Karenkook (Chapter 5 Review): Yep. This story can get confusing. You see, in the heat of the moment, they weren't thinking and figured "Hey, we can cover more ground!" by splitting up. That's why they split up, and nobody ever considered that fact.  
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**Karenkook (Chapter 6 Review): Splitting up is never good. That definitely is how they pick you off. Isn't that the method they've been using? After this I'll have a long talk with the Chipmunks and Chipettes...  
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**Guest 2: Thank you, and I feel bad that you can't get on the computer much. Good luck on your tests!  
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**simonettefan: I agree on the review button (or comment button as it now tells me in my emails). It's alright that you couldn't review sooner, I hope camp was fun! ...And about your order on the kidnappings...uhh...read it down below! *Bad poker face* Thanks for reviewing!  
**

**And now, the lovely time for recapping the events in the last chapter.  
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***In official voice* Previously on Locked Up...  
**

******Eleanor is brought into the cell room with Alvin. She and Alvin are interrogated by the gunman. The big family history is pretty much revealed to her and Alvin. Meanwhile, Jeanette, Brittany, Simon, and Theodore regroup and decide to split up again. This time Brittany and Jeanette head off for the beach like they originally intended. Simon and Theodore were about to go to the park when a black van came roaring down the street, right at them.**

******This, folks, is where we stand in the story.  
**

******Read on!  
**

* * *

**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Chapter 7~**

Theodore was too frozen in fear to even budge. His eyes were wide open. Simon looked up at the van, grabbed Theodore's wrist, and ran over to the curb. The van pulled up beside the curb and two men jumped out.

"Grab the nerdy one and hold him down while I get the chubby one," the taller of the two commanded. The shorter of the two kidnappers nodded and grabbed at Simon's wrists. He held them behind his back and shoved him onto the grass, making him lie on his stomach.

"Run Theodore!" Simon yelled. Theodore tried to run from the gunman, but his small body proved not fast enough. The chubby chipmunk looked at the baseball bat he hadn't realized he'd been holding, turned around, and swung at the gunman with futile attempts. The gunman grabbed it from the chipmunk's grip and bashed Theodore over the head, enough to send him clean on the ground.

"Theodore!" Simon screamed.

They shoved Theodore into another burlap sack and threw it into the van.

"Should we take this one?" the gunman holding down Simon asked.

"Nah, I'll just knock him out and leave him here. Then they'll get the message that we mean business," the tall gunman said, raising the bat and giving Simon a whack to the head. The two men then jumped in the van and sped away, leaving Simon out on the grass between the sidewalk and the road, unconscious.

_"Simon?"_

Jeanette of all times, was just now trying to communicate with him.

_"Simon, come in. It's Jeanette and Brittany."_

No response came from the chipmunk.

_"Simon? Simon, are you okay?"_

All Simon could do was lay motionless as Jeanette began to panic on the other line.

_ "Simon! Brittany and I are coming back there!"_

**~Meanwhile~**

"You mean to tell me that they held down Simon and took Theodore?" Alvin demanded Hector. Hector nodded with a smirk as Theodore, who was just stirring, was dragged in and placed in the cell next to Eleanor, on her left. Alvin gasped at the site of his little brother and gripped the bars of the cage with a white-knuckled grip.

"Theodore, wake up!" he called.

Theodore's green eyes blinked open just as his cell door slammed shut. He looked through the bars and saw Eleanor. They both ran to the bars dividing them.

"Eleanor!" Theodore said. Hector rolled his eyes.

"Theodore," he said coyly, "are you the sibling that is quite smitten with Jeanette?" Theodore shook his head, taking Hector by surprise. He turned to Alvin with a glare.

"You said Theodore was the one who liked Jeanette!"

"I was nearly unconscious from that shock collar and was going delusional!" Alvin defended, balling his fists. Eleanor grimaced as she heard Alvin's cell door open and loud slapping sounds and yelps follow.

"What is he doing to Alvin?" Theodore asked nervously, eyes wide with fear as he watched blood slowly leak out from where Hector had dug his nails into Alvin's arm. Eleanor sighed and shook her head.

"Every time we lie, say something out of order, interrupt, and things like that…we get beaten, or we get the shock collar…or sometimes he starves us. Theo, it's bad here," she explained quietly. She cast her gaze to the ground.

"Ellie, what have they done to you? Surely…they must have done something to _you,_ because they don't seem to take any prisoners here," Theodore whispered to her. Eleanor went uneasy at the question. Theodore looked at her, worry dominating his expression. He would've reached out to put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance, had the bars of the cells not been separating them.

"He's beat me like he's beating Alvin now. They give me the shock collar…they torture me mentally, telling me I'm going to die, and that the rest of you are dead. And Theodore…it can happen. I have the Miller family history, and his family is out to get our family. I worry. If he gets Jeanette's key he can duplicate it to take over the world. That key is magic and right now it is on the light side of the universe. But if it gets taken and falls to the dark side bad things will happen, Theo!" the chipette next to him whispered.

She lifted her shirt partially in the back. There were many cuts and bruises and long scratch marks. It made Theodore feel sick to look at it.

"Eleanor…," he said softly. Eleanor nodded.

"Theodore…don't let this happen to you. Just stay quiet and answer truthfully whenever he asks you a question. Just keep calm under the pressure," she said to him.

Theodore nodded toward her and then watched as Hector forcefully shoved Alvin into the wall and slammed his cage door shut. He looked at Eleanor with the evil eye and then at Theodore, a devilish smile lighting up his face as he approached the chipmunk's cell.

"Theodore Seville…do you know the name of the girl protecting Jeanette?"

Eleanor and Theodore looked at each other solemnly. Theodore put his head down.

"Yes sir, it is her older sister Brittany Miller."

"Do you know anything of her weaknesses?" Hector asked him thoughtfully.

_The gang was twelve at the time. Simon and Jeanette had been off at the library, Eleanor was home sick with the flu, and Theodore was in the backyard with Alvin and Brittany. The chipmunk had been trying to gather some things from his garden for Eleanor to cook with when she got better and for himself to make her some meals with. He could recall Alvin and Brittany playing some game when it had come up. _

_ "Brittany, tell me where the location of the base is!"_

_ "Never!"_

_ "Then I'll be forced to do this!" _

_ Alvin had tied her to the tree so she wouldn't squirm, and he began to squirt her with water until he got his answer. The water was cold, oh-so-very cold. It brought great pain to Brittany eventually as the water felt like bullets against her skin, and she squealed out loud about the location of the "base" in their game._

"Being squirted with very cold water feels like bullets to her and will get her to crack under pressure in attacks with bouts of water randomly squirted, and she cracks about a lot of things when she is restrained and can't escape," Theodore said in shame. Hector grinned and left the room, and the three chipmunks in the room could plainly hear Hector say five words that scared them all.

"Send out for Brittany Miller."

**~Back with Simon~**

Jeanette rushed down to her counterpart's side. Simon was still unconscious, and there was a bruise visible through the hair on his head. Jeanette's breath hitched when she saw the baseball bat lying on the ground next to him, a few of his hairs caught in the splintering wood.

"B-B-Britt…he's…he looks so hurt…he looks dead!" Jeanette exclaimed.

"He's not dead, Jean. He's unconscious. He'll come to soon," Brittany tried to reassure her little sister quietly, pulling her into a warm hug as the purple-clad chipette began to cry. The brunette cried for a good five minutes before she felt the same pain on her chest as she did earlier. The key was glowing white this time and it seemed to be moving slowly toward Simon.

"I think that key might be able to heal him, ya know, to wake him up," Brittany suggested. Jeanette clutched the key and knelt down beside Simon. She placed the key on his head and waited.

"Is it doing anything?" Brittany asked.

"No—wait, yes!" Jeanette answered. The light grew brighter and more blinding as it travelled throughout Simon. Jeanette took the key off of his head as the light died down and watched as Simon's eyes flew open.

"Th-Theo-o-dore?"

"It's Jeanette and Brittany," Jeanette said softly, laying a hand on his forehead.

"Jean…Theo…he got taken by them. We were in the road…and they almost h-hit us. Two guys…they jumped out. One held me down. Theodore tried t-t-to run and when th-th-that fell through h-he t-tried to hit one o-of them…over the head w-with the baseball b-b-bat. The g-guy chasing him t-took the bat and b-b-bashed Theodore o-over the h-head! Th-They stuffed him in a-a-a burlap sack and then th-threw him in the back of the van…and then th-they knocked m-m-me out and l-left m-me…"

"Oh, Simon…," Jeanette whispered to him. She helped him stagger to his feet and she hugged him. He hugged her back.

"Jean…we need to find them soon," Simon said. They broke the hug.

"Simon's right," Brittany said, "We need to find them. They can't be that far away, can they?"

"It was a California license plate and they managed to snag two people in a day. They shouldn't be that far off at all," Simon said to the girls. He looked at Jeanette's key. It was glowing green this time and looked ready to fly off of her neck down the street toward the pool area.

"I think her key is trying to act as our GPS," he said, pointing to the key. Jeanette looked down at it.

"It's telling us to go back down where Theodore and Eleanor went, I believe," she said. The trio began to walk down that way .

"I'm nervous about this. Do you think they're going to come back for any more of us?" Brittany asked them.

"They've kidnapped three out of the six of us and seem very persistent about it. I hate to worry you guys, but they're probably going to end up coming for us. I don't know their motive for doing so, perhaps because we're some very famous people and we're only teens, but they're probably going to come for us," Simon said. Brittany groaned.

"Just great."

"We take a turn down this road here," Jeanette said, pointing to a dirt road on the side of the street.

"Are you sure about that?" Brittany asked her nervously, looking at the darkness of the trees on either side of the way. Jeanette looked down at the ground, confirming her fears.

"Yep. Tire marks, right here to prove it," the bespectacled chipette responded.

"I'm not so sure on this," Simon said, laying a hand on Jeanette's shoulder before she could walk forward, "Somebody could be watching us, waiting to grab us when we least expect it. But now we know where to go, so let's formulate a plan. If we follow the tire tracks through the dirt we should be able to find a warehouse or some base or something where they're keeping them. Of course it might be guarded…"

"Here's what I think," Brittany began, "I think we should follow those tracks and find a building where they should be keeping them. We find an alternative entrance and go in through there. We stick together, find the others, take down the kidnappers, and get the heck out of there."

"I feel like that's a reasonable plan," Jeanette said.

Brittany smiled triumphantly and began to lead when there was a noise behind the group. They all turned around, giving a black-clad man enough time to whack Brittany and stuff her inside of a burlap sack. Simon and Jeanette turned around to see the figure running off down the path.

"Brittany!" Jeanette yelled. She took off down the dirt, but the kidnapper was much faster. Simon ran off after Jeanette.

"Jean, be careful!" he yelled. And that was when he and Jeanette both fell to the ground, surrounded by six kidnappers.

"Not good…," Jeanette whispered, crawling over to Simon.

He put his arms around her as the six kidnappers closed in.

* * *

**Oh my gosh! Brittany got taken and Simon and Jeanette are about to! Theodore also got taken and learned of the torture he's about to go through!**

**Okay, so let's recap.**

**First, the people in the van hold Simon down and kidnap Theodore. Then they leave Simon on the side of the road, unconscious. Theodore is brought to his cell with Eleanor and Alvin and learns of the harsh torture they receive/have received while they were in captivity. Next, Brittany and Jeanette find Simon and Jeanette's key is able to heal and awaken Simon. Jeanette and the gang follow the key as it glows green to find a dirt road with tire marks in it, a surefire sign that this is where they are holding the others hostage. Brittany gets taken and Jeanette and Simon are lured into the trap and get surrounded by kidnappers.**

**This, mi amigos, is where we stand.**

**Random questions that I probably already know the answer to time!**

**What will happen to Jeanette and Simon?**

**Will they finally get Jeanette's key?**

**Who will save them now?**

**Will the kidnappers have a change of heart?**

**Where have Dave and Miss Miller been this entire time?**

**You'll just have to tune into chapter 8 next time and figure it out. I hope you leave what you think is the answer to these questions in the comments below!**

**CG10 out, peace!**


	9. Chapter 8

**If you thought that last chapter was one of the most interesting/action-packed ones...YOU WERE WRONG! I'm serious, you are now proved oh-so-very wrong. Muahahaha!  
**

**Yeah, that evil laugh was good.  
**

**Oh-so-very good.  
**

**Yeah, well, anyway, this chapter is going to be very interesting, action-packed, lots of drama, romance, and EPICNESS.  
**

**Well, that's what I think anyway.  
**

**Okay, by now, chapter 8, we should all know how the first author's note works.  
**

**Of course, my words to my oh-so-very lovely reviewers.  
**

**MarioBoy10: OH MY GOSH. DUDE. YOU ARE SOOO R-wrong. Your answer lies in this chapter, mi hermano. Read on!  
**

**Water-Angel445: I know, I know. The poor Chipmunks and Chipettes! I really hope they make it out of this alright, or I'll be the one to strangle Hector until he's dead...uh...ignore that rant right there. LOL. And yup, some people must use torture to get it out of people. After all, kidnappers don't expect their victims to be like "oh the key to destroy the whole world is in the plant, have fun," so, yeah. You couldn't wait for it, and now here's the chapter!  
**

**RossLynchLUVR: My chapter wasn't good? OH MY GOSH HOW DARE-oh. You were talking about the situation. I knew that...heh. JK! I'm so happy to hear you love it and that you're intrigued. Yep, I do know who Ross Lynch is. He plays Austin on Austin & Ally. :)  
**

**Karenkook: Yup. They were underprepared, because it was spur-of-the-moment when they decided "hey, let's go find Alvin without anything!" so, yeah. There will be something that will make everyone forget about needing supplies in this chapter...read on!  
**

**iloveSIMONETTE: Aha, reviewing and reviewing are two different things during exam time for an FF writer/reader. Nice. Your idea was a good one, but it's not what actually happened. Thanks for loving the story, and thanks for taking the time to read and review! Good luck on exams and here's the next chapter!  
**

**simonettefan: Yep, you were right! Here's the next chapter for you and thanks for reviewing!  
**

**Munksonline4good: Thanks for thinking the story is great, and here's the next chapter!  
**

**The Chipette Protector: Sad to say, but it looks as if they _are,_ in fact, going to kidnap Simon and Jeanette. Only Hector can use dark magic, and that is part of the reason he wins so easily, but the other guys are just normal human henchmen with no powers. As for the other two chipettes, nobody knows just yet. But I guess they will, at some point in the future.  
**

**Thanks for reviewing guys, now time to recap!  
**

******First, the people in the van hold Simon down and kidnap Theodore. Then they leave Simon on the side of the road, unconscious. Theodore is brought to his cell with Eleanor and Alvin and learns of the harsh torture they receive/have received while they were in captivity. Next, Brittany and Jeanette find Simon and Jeanette's key is able to heal and awaken Simon. Jeanette and the gang follow the key as it glows green to find a dirt road with tire marks in it, a surefire sign that this is where they are holding the others hostage. Brittany gets taken and Jeanette and Simon are lured into the trap and get surrounded by kidnappers.**

******This is where we stand, folks.  
**

******Well, if you're reading this author's note still, you're probably very anxious to read, and I won't keep you away from the story any longer.  
**

******Here is chapter 8!  
**

* * *

**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Chapter 8~**

"I-I-I suppose we can't negotiate things out, guys? Huh?" Simon said with an uneasy grin as the kidnappers reached for them. One grabbed Jeanette by the shoulders and began pulling her up from the ground.

"Jeanette!" Simon exclaimed, reaching for her hands. Someone else grabbed Simon's wrists and cuffed them behind his back. The same was done for Jeanette. They were then led forcefully through the dirt path and into a building hidden amongst the trees. The doors whooshed open and the men brought them inside, into a small room. They could see numerous cells, and in four of them were their siblings.

"Brittany! Eleanor!" Jeanette exclaimed loudly, pulling on her restraints.

"Alvin, Theodore!" Simon shouted, trying to break free.

The lead gunman, Hector, stood up with and smirked at Simon and Jeanette.

"Jeanette Miller and Simon Seville," he addressed, sending cold shivers up their spines. He tilted Jeanette's chin up so she could look him in the eye. Simon's fists curled at his side. _Get your hands off of her right now._

"Jeanette, you do not know who I am. You do not know the full power of the key, nor the impact it has when in the wrong hands. You know not what you are capable of. I suppose you were to learn from your little sister Eleanor when you are sixteen, but obviously, now, that's not going to happen," Hector explained. Jeanette tensed up.

"W-What are you talking about?" she stammered nervously.

"You fool! You know nothing of your key's past nor do you know of the impact it will have once it is in my possession!" Hector exclaimed.

"I know my key has some sort of power…I know about my ancestor Ginny Miller, and I know Laurie Miller and Yvette Miller were also great cases with this key…," Jeanette said quietly.

"Hmm," Hector said with uncertainty. He turned to three of the kidnappers.

"Take Brittany, Jeanette, and Simon to the extra special interrogation room," he said.

"Special interrogation room?" Brittany piped up uneasily from her cell.

Hector nodded at the three of them, shocking Alvin, Eleanor, and Theodore. Alvin gripped the bars of his cell.

"If you hurt her I will go all 'munk on you! Don't you dare hurt Brittany in any way! Take me instead! Do it! Take me!" he snapped wildly. Brittany turned to look at him as her cell door opened.

"A-Alvin?" she asked quietly.

"Brittany! Don't go! Don't take her away from me!" Alvin yelled.

"Alvin…," Brittany whispered as one kidnapper pinned her arms behind her back.

"Brittany! I love you!" Alvin exclaimed. Brittany looked up at him sadly.

"I love you too, Alvin."

They kissed through the bars of the cell before Brittany was dragged out with Simon and Jeanette. Alvin staggered back and slumped against the wall as he watched her get dragged out, her blue eyes downcast, their normal brightness gone. Theodore and Eleanor looked to him with concern as the door to the room closed and they were left alone with one of the other kidnappers, Hector gone with Brittany, Jeanette, and Simon.

**~Meanwhile~**

Brittany and Jeanette lied on cold metal slabs side-by-side, both chained down on the wrists, ankles, foreheads, and torsos. Simon was put in a small confinement unit with a see-through, green-tinted door. He could see and hear what was going on, and he they could see and hear him, as well.

"What are you going to do to us?" Brittany wondered nervously.

"You girls do not know my family history or much of yours. I come from a family powerful in the use of magic on the dark side. You girls come from a family powerful in the light side of magic and that key is the source of both good and bad. Only females may use it in the light side in the Miller family because it was given to a female Miller hundreds of years ago, and only males can use it in the dark side because it was a male who gave it to the family. The male spilled a magic potion on the key, thus giving it powers," Hector explained to them.

"That still doesn't explain what you're going to do to them," Simon called from his spot. Hector rolled his eyes.

"First of all, I need much information on Jeanette from her older sister, Brittany. Theodore has seen how I have tortured Alvin and Eleanor and thus far told me your weaknesses, Brittany. You hate to be attacked with icy water, and you don't do well in restraints, either," he explained. Brittany tensed up. Simon grimaced, and Jeanette's blood ran cold.

"B-Bring it o-on!" Brittany stammered.

"Very well then," Hector began, "I understand Jeanette is required to wear glasses to see. Just how bad _is_ her vision without them?" Brittany glared.

"I'll never tell you. You'll end up using whatever I tell you against my poor sister," she said defiantly. Glass walls went up around all four sides of Brittany, boxing her in as a sprinkler system went off above her. The cold water dripped down all over her, sending shivers running through her body as the droplets cascaded over the exposed areas of skin.

"Are you sure?" Hector asked her.

"I'm positive I'm not telling," Brittany called through the glass. The sprinkles went off again, and water began to build up on the floor. The cold water was beginning to drive Brittany nuts, as far as Jeanette could tell.

"Tell me!" Hector demanded, turning the sprinkler system on high. The water felt like bullets to her. And slowly, the memory of her weaker, twelve-year-old self playing with Alvin in the backyard that day resurfaced. Brittany couldn't squirm as the water came down on her, and finally she broke.

"She can hardly see at all with them off! She's as blind as a bat and it would be a miracle if she didn't walk into a wall!" she shouted. Hector smirked and turned off the water. The glass walls around her fell, and the water spread out all over the room. Hector walked over to Jeanette.

"Don't touch her!" Simon shouted from his cell.

Hector smirked and grabbed Jeanette's glasses. He set them on a table in the back of the room.

"Can you see?" he asked maliciously.

"Y-Y-Yes…," Jeanette responded. The key was glowing white again.

_This key is letting me see. I am Jeanette Miller, I am fifteen years old, I'm being tortured by a kidnapper-slash-gunman, he took my glasses, I am not supposed to be able to see, but I have a magic key, and it allows me to. _

Hector glared at the chipette and reached for the key around her neck. The chain began to glow as well, and it burned Hector on connection. Jeanette herself remained unharmed as he tried again and again, the intensity of the heat leaving marks. He glared again at Jeanette and walked over to a control table.

He pressed on a few buttons. Jeanette's slab turned to a fifty-degree angle as a laser came down.

"What are you going to do to her?" Simon shouted.

"I'm going to extract the power from that key so I can get it for myself!" Hector shouted, "And then when I get it the power will be back in the key and I can take over the world!"

"You're crazy!" all three chipmunks in the room shouted.

"Oh am I?" Hector said. He glared at Simon.

"How crazy do you think I can get?" he asked him, grabbing a baseball bat and walking toward Jeanette. Simon's fists curled as Hector whacked Jeanette on the head, not hard enough to knock her out but enough where she felt immense pain.

"Stop it!" Simon shouted.

Hector smirked at him and put the bat down. He walked back over to the control table and began pushing buttons again. A laser from the ceiling dropped down into view. It was charging up with electricity. And then a black beam of light shot out, hitting the key. Jeanette shrieked in agony as the power from the key drained. Simon banged on the glass and Brittany gasped out loud.

"Stop hurting her!" Simon screeched, throwing himself at the green-tinted glass door. The glass shattered and he lunged for Hector, taking him down. Hector pulled on the lever as he fell to the floor, intensifying the beam. The key was glowing, burning almost, and Jeanette was screaming. Simon pushed the lever all the way back to stop the beam and slammed his fist down on a button to release Brittany and Jeanette from their confines. Brittany jumped from her spot and helped Jeanette get up.

"Run!" Simon yelled to them just as he fell down. Hector had pulled on his foot.

"Simon!" Jeanette yelled back.

"Jean, go! I'll handle it! Just run!" Simon shouted at her. Jeanette shook her head and tackled Hector, causing him to release his grip on Simon. Hector pushed Jeanette down.

"Now, that key is mine!" he yelled at her, ripping the chain from around her neck. As soon as it was off, Jeanette felt a burning pain flow through her and she collapsed with a gasp.

"Jeanette!" Simon exclaimed. Brittany turned around to see her little sister on the floor and the key in Hector's clutches. Hector grinned maniacally and poured the extracted magic onto the key. The purple on the key immediately turned black. Hector laughed at them as the three of them stood together.

"Now I can take over the world!"

**~Back in the neighborhood~**

Dave and Miss Miller were both at work for the day when it happened. A loud boom erupted from the sky as it turned black. Lightning flashed, more booms followed, yet there was no rain. Dark creatures crawled out from all corners of the forests, from the darkening water of the ocean, and so forth.

Miss Miller knew immediately what it was that was happening.

"David, do you remember that key that's been in the Chipettes' family for generations? I think someone has it…someone evil. David, that key is magical. Jeanette is one of the seven greatest Miller family key-bearers, and the person who has it is probably one of the greatest seven against her!" she explained as she and Dave stepped outside from their office buildings.

"I've heard that from Rosemary before she passed. We need to find the kids," Dave agreed. He ran a hand through his hair as all sorts of evils began to overwhelm the city.

**~With Alvin, Eleanor, and Theodore~**

"Shut up! All three of you just shut up!" one of the gunmen said, covering his ears as Alvin, Theodore, and Eleanor sang together, from one of the stupidest songs on the planet. While the gunmen was ranting for them to shut up, Eleanor was using a bobby pin to pick the lock on the cell door.

The door clicked.

Eleanor kicked open her cell door and grabbed the baseball bat lying on the desk in front of her cell. She swung it around and bashed the gunman watching them on the head. The gunman fell to the floor, allowing Eleanor to grab the key from the desk and unlock Theodore and Alvin's cells.

"Come on guys," she said confidently, "we're going to find Simon, Jeanette, and Brittany!" Alvin and Theodore cheered as they burst through the door and came to a long corridor.

"…Drat," Alvin muttered as he looked at all of the doors.

"I hear screaming coming from this one and there's bright lights in here," Theodore said, pointing to a door. Eleanor thrust the door open and saw Hector holding Jeanette's key. Jeanette was struggling to stand up right and Simon was right there by her side, along with Brittany.

"Oh my goodness!" she shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. Alvin's jaw dropped and Theodore covered his wide-open mouth.

Hector glared at the three.

"How did you three escape? I demand to know!" he shouted. Eleanor crossed her arms.

"I refuse to answer on the grounds that this is a free country!" she shouted at him. Hector smirked devilishly and raised his hands above his head, brought them to his chest, and thrust them outward, sending a giant ball of black magic toward Eleanor. She fell backward into Theodore.

"Give Jeanette back her key right now!" Alvin demanded, pushing up his red sweatshirt sleeve and balling his fist. Hector rolled his eyes and shot another ball of energy at Alvin. The chipmunk fell flat on his back as black tendrils started growing out of the floor. Jeanette gasped out loud as one of them began wrapping around her ankles and working it's way up.

"Simon!" she cried out as some more wrapped around her wrists and pulled her to the floor. Simon grabbed her hands and pulled her up, the black tendrils trying desperately to pull her back down.

"How does it feel, Miller?" Hector snapped at her with a laugh. Jeanette glared at him.

"How does it feel to lose, to be beaten for once?" Hector shouted at her.

"Give me the key, Hector," she demanded.

Nobody notice her hands were ablaze with purple.

* * *

**OH MY GOSH! The city is under attack! We finally find Dave and Miss Miller! Hector has the key! Brittany was tortured! Jeanette was tortured! Simon was tortured from just watching the love of his life get hurt!**

**OH MY GOSH!**

**THIS IS MADNESS I TELL YOU, MADNESS!**

**Okay recap time! **

**Simon and Jeanette were caught! Simon, Jeanette, and Brittany were taken to the "special interrogation" room. Brittany was tortured with water, her fear, Jeanette was whacked and her key got taken away, giving her agony, and Simon was tortured from watching Jeanette get hurt. Dave and Miss Miller turned out to be at work, the city is under attack by all forms of evil, and they know all about the key. Alvin, Eleanor, and Theodore escape to see Jeanette weakened by the loss of her key, Hector with the key, and all sorts of evils torturing Jeanette, Simon, and Brittany. And now Jeanette is **_**mad.**_

**Does Jeanette have powers from having the key for so long?**

**Can the Chipmunks and Chipettes get the key back?**

**What will become of the city?**

**Will Dave and Miss Miller be able to help the Chipmunks and Chipettes?**

**Or will Hector ruin everything?**

**You know the drill! Read, review, and wait for the update!**

**See you guys in chapter nine!**


	10. Chapter 9

**If you thought that LAST chapter was exciting, you are oh-so-very wrong. SO, SO, SO very wrong. I know I said that in the last chapter, but now this tops that! I'm flip-flopping serious here, people!  
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**There is so much action in this chapter!  
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**YOU MUST READ IT.  
**

**But first I must do what I must to hold you up.  
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**Words to the reviewers time for all of you people reviewing who read this stuff!  
**

**RossLynchLUVR: You are so obsessed with Ross Lynch and 1D! Thanks for thinkin' the chap was sad...and awesome at the same time! WEIRD PEOPLE OF THE UNIVERSE UNITE! P.S. I can picture your wall. That's a lot. Here's the next chapter for you!  
**

**chipmunkfan1001: I wanna know what happens, too! Well...I already know as much as what's happened in this chapter. Anything else is beyond me! ...Until, ya know, I get to writing it. The key's power shall reveal on the (blank) side in this chapter. Yup, you must read it to find the answer. There _is_ Simonette and a moment of Bralvin (Alvittany/Alvany) in this chapter as well! Thanks for wishing me luck and here's the next chapter, just as you hoped!  
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**vote4coolige15: My definition of those who want to take over the world: whack-a-doos that can be just about any kind of antagonist/anti-hero (i.e. awkward, rough, etc.). And I see that you mentioned you asked about Rosemary, thank you for identifying yourself even though you didn't have to! I hope my answer helped. :)  
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**The Chipette Protector: What's he doing? Hmm...he's trying to take over the world and get the key that the Artigos (his family) gave to the Millers all of those years ago, back in the 1500s I believe it was, because they ended up giving it the magical powers (without realizing it) and gave it to the Millers, who discovered the power of the key. As for controlling what he unleashed...if he ignores what he's unleashed for too long he no longer has control...so expect him to have zero control over what's happening. Thanks for reviewing! You couldn't wait to find out, and your wait is over!  
**

**MarioBoy10: You don't _have to answer_ the questions! These are things I'm assuming you're wondering unless you can think of anything better. They're to leave you hanging. And thanks for telling me I have really good writing! Thanks for reviewing and here's chapter 9!  
**

**simonettefan: If you thought that was intense, you haven't seen this! ...Well, obviously you haven't yet! I _just_ posted! Lots of Simonette here so prepare to "aww" some more! And I'm not in big trouble, I updated, YAY!  
**

**Guest 1: ...Not sure what the troll face has to do with any of this...so...uh...*bad poker face* Thanks for reviewing...? Ah, whatever! Here's the next chapter!  
**

**Water-Angel445: Aww, but if he left there would be no antagonist at all. Sorry to disappoint, but Hector is gonna be here for a while. And that gunman flippin' out on them was actually supposed to be funny...so yes! I have done something right! WOO-HOO! ...And cheese...controlling cheese...no. Dead wrong. XD Thank you for the loving of the chapter, and here's the next!  
**

**ChippettesRock00: It's okay to be a guest! Thank you so much! Here's the next chapter!  
**

**Okay, okay, we got through that boring stuff. So now, you can go read the chapter!  
**

**No, just kidding. You probably don't remember where we are!  
**

**Let us recap!  
**

**Simon and Jeanette were caught! Simon, Jeanette, and Brittany were taken to the "special interrogation" room. Brittany was tortured with water, her fear, Jeanette was whacked and her key got taken away, giving her agony, and Simon was tortured from watching Jeanette get hurt. Dave and Miss Miller turned out to be at work, the city is under attack by all forms of evil, and they know all about the key. Alvin, Eleanor, and Theodore escape to see Jeanette weakened by the loss of her key, Hector with the key, and all sorts of evils torturing Jeanette, Simon, and Brittany. And now Jeanette is **_**mad.**_

**Read on!  
**

* * *

**~Locked Up~  
~by ChipetteGirl10~  
~Chapter 9~**

"Give me back that key," Jeanette demanded again. Hector smirked at her and shook his head, clutching the key in his fist. He waved his hands around, making tendrils spring up around Jeanette to try and trap her. Jeanette's usual quiet, calm, and shy temperament vanished. Wisps of purple began to swirl around her and her hands grew brighter, preventing the tendrils from grabbing her. The others, except for Eleanor and Alvin, who already knew about the powers of the key, looked on in astonishment. Hector's eyes widened as fiery balls of purple flames came hurling at him.

"Give me the key," Jeanette hissed out, "or I'll be forced to take you down and get it myself." Hector shook his head and laughed at her, throwing black balls of energy at her.

"Silly girl, you can't just make me give up this key. And you won't be able to get it back if you tried! You're nothing but a weakling! You're a weak, stupid, fifteen-year-old girl who thinks this key can magically help her do anything!" he said. Jeanette glared at him, and the wisps began to form a full-on mystical zone as Jeanette felt her feet lift off of the ground.

"Just like Ginny," Simon whispered, putting one hand over his mouth.

"I'll give you one more chance. Give me the key, and nobody will get hurt," Jeanette said. Hector laughed at her.

"Young Jeanette Miller. So naïve. You may not be hurting anyone, but I will," he said, taking the other five by surprise. They all looked around at one another. Jeanette tensed up.

"You can't hurt me. I have the power of the light side in me," she said through grit teeth.

"Oh, it's not you I'm talking about," Hector said, gathering energy, "IT'S HIM!" Hector launched a black ball and hit Simon square in the chest. He fell on the floor. Before the others could get to him, tendrils wrapped around them and kept them confined in a tendril cage. Hector continued to launch more balls at Simon. The chipmunk couldn't take all of the blows and was rapidly weakening.

"Stop hurting him," Jeanette commanded, gathering another large beam of energy and hitting Hector with it, knocking him to the floor. He looked up at her, and a dangerous glint was in his eye. Jeanette took it as a red flag. She looked to Simon to see his clothes slowly fading to black.

"Simon!" she shouted, kneeling down beside him. He put her hand on him as he groaned, pain taking him over. Jeanette concentrated, closing her eyes and pushing her energy into Simon. Alvin gasped as his sweatshirt color started going back to it's original state. Hector glared and threw another ball of energy at Simon. Jeanette jumped in front of it, deflecting it back at Hector.

"I knew you would jump in to save him," Hector snarled.

Jeanette glared at him and began launching purple fireballs at Hector, who began to deflect them, aiming more and more accurately toward the other chipmunks in the room.

"Stop trying to hit us you freak!" Brittany cried, ducking behind Alvin and using him as a shield.

"Brittany!" Alvin exclaimed.

Hector finally got a hit on Jeanette and knocked her to the floor, giving him time to grab Simon by the neck.

"Make a move on me and I'll kill him…or even better, I'll turn him against you," he hissed at Jeanette. Simon looked at her, crestfallen. He looked down at the ground. Jeanette slowly felt her feet go back on the ground, the purple aura still there. She looked at Simon and then at Hector. Her purple aura slowly dissipated on her command. Hector grinned devilishly at her and began to throw dark magic balls at Simon.

"You said if I made a move on you then you would do that!" Jeanette shouted.

"No offense Jean…NEVER LISTEN TO WHAT A VILLAIN SAYS!" Eleanor shouted from the side.

Anger coursed through Jeanette's veins. The aura returned, brighter than it was before. Hector sighed and smirked at her.

"You're too late now. In one minute Simon here will be against you. And the two of us can easily overtake a scrawny weak girl like you," he said, pointing to the blue-clad chipmunk in the corner of the room. His clothes were nearly black and an aura began to build around him from black wisps.

"Simon!" Jeanette called over to him. She bolted over to him. He looked up at her, breathing hard.

"Simon, come on, please keep with me here," Jeanette said, squeezing his hand. Simon squeezed back. Hector took Jeanette's distraction as his opportunity. He tackled the chipette to the ground, ignoring Simon. Simon gasped as Hector put Jeanette in a headlock. Brittany, Eleanor, Alvin, and Theodore all looked at each other. Jeanette struggled to breathe as Hector squeezed around her neck tighter and tighter.

"Let her go!" Alvin finally shouted, breaking through the tendril cage and jumping onto Hector's back. Simon looked around and grabbed a baseball bat that was lying on the floor. He jabbed it harshly into Hector's side, making the kidnapper stumble and release his grip on Jeanette. Jeanette fell onto the floor, breathing heavily and gasping for air.

"Jean, breathe," Brittany said as she and Eleanor rushed to her aid. Theodore joined his brothers in attacking Hector. Hector called more tendrils over to him, a few of them wrapping around Alvin's ankles and preventing him from moving.

"Si! Theo! Bash his head in!" he shouted.

"I'm trying over here!" Simon called back. That was when Hector grabbed the bat and snapped it in two.

"Dude! That was signed!" Alvin yelled.

"Not important, Alvin! Theo and I are defenseless over here!" Simon snapped at his older brother, dodging punches from Hector. Hector scowled and raised his hands over his head. His black mystical zone grew bigger and darker and maniacal, banshee-like laughter filled the room. Spirits swirled around and attacked Simon and Theodore.

"No!" Alvin yelled.

Simon was knocked to the ground. Tendrils kept him down as Hector created a huge mass of black magic and threw it onto Simon. Jeanette's heart tore at Simon's agonized screams. Her aura began to glow again as she stood up and rose from the ground. Hector looked up to see her gathering a humongous ball of her purple energy and threw it at him. She hit him square in the chest and he fell backward. This gave Jeanette enough time to get beside Simon.

"Simon…stay with me here! Don't let him turn you against me!" she commanded him, laying her hand over his heart and concentrating her energy. Simon's sweatshirt faded back to it's normal blue color.

"Jean…"

"Simon. Listen to me. Get the others out of here. I need to handle this myself and I can't risk getting the rest of you guys hurt anymore," Jeanette said urgently.

"But Jean—"

"Do it!"

"A-A…Alright."

Jeanette looked him in the eye.

"I love you. If I don't make it out know that I always have," she said before kissing him. Simon kissed her back. She turned to Hector, just as he was getting up.

"Taking my loved ones, huh? That means that you're too chicken to directly fight me in a battle of power," Jeanette taunted him as Simon helped Alvin and Theodore up off of the floor. The three boys ran to Brittany and Eleanor and darted out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Jeanette was now alone with Hector. Her fear, masked by determination and anger, rose each passing second.

"You have no one to save you now," Hector said in a dark tone. He lunged for the small chipette. Jeanette rolled out of the way and stood back up on the other side of the room. She launched a few purple balls of energy at him before moving again. Hector missed his shots every time.

"Get back here, you little pest!" he said. Jeanette concentrated and rose into the air again. She flew across the room and kicked Hector in the back as he was hunched over.

"Why you little!"

He grabbed the chipette by the ankle and pulled her down to the floor. Jeanette tried desperately to escape his grasp, to no avail.

"Nobody can save you," he snarled at her. He threw her onto Brittany's slab and quickly activated the restraints, put the walls up around it, and activated the sprinkler, which was still set on high.

"Now you can drown!" he said. He laughed demonically and walked out of the room, locking it behind him. Jeanette groaned in pain from the blow that threw her onto the slab, which she had hit her back on. The water was coming down and it was beginning to pool up on the floor.

_This is how I'm going to die._

_ This is how I'm going to die._

_ This is how I'm going to die._

The door creaked open. Jeanette couldn't see who it was, but she had a feeling.

"Jeanette!"

She was right. It was _him._

He was absolutely horrified stepping into the room to see in the short time he was gone that his counterpart was near to her own death. He slammed his fist down on the restraint button and Jeanette was able to sit up. The water in the small glass encasing was rising. Simon looked around for the levers for the glass and sprinklers only to see that they were destroyed.

_Destroyed._

The word rang a few times in his head. He looked at Jeanette. She looked horrified. And that was when he knew what he had to do. Simon grabbed half of the baseball bat and chucked it as hard as he could. It sailed through the glass and broke it. Jeanette grabbed the bat from inside and whacked out an opening big enough for her to fit through. Simon grabbed her hand and pulled her out.

"Where are the others?" Jeanette asked him urgently.

"The outside of the building wasn't far from here. I shooed them outside and I knew I needed to come back. I couldn't let you face this alone, Jeanette," he said.

"Did you see Hector?"

"He's looking for the others. He thinks his henchmen got them back already, but they didn't. They're safe. As for us, we need to find Hector, beat the fudge out of him, get your key back, and stop the city from being destroyed. Jean, there were all sorts of evil things out there. The sky was just about _black_," Simon explained to the chipette.

"Oh my gosh…," Jeanette whispered.

Simon nodded.

"We need to take him by surprise. At least, that's what I think," he explained to Jeanette. She nodded to him thoughtfully.

"I suppose we do."

**~With Dave and Miss Miller~**

"David! Do those teenagers over there look familiar to you?" Miss Miller asked as she recklessly sped down the road toward the Seville residence. Dave squinted and then his eyes widened.

"Those teenagers are Brittany, Eleanor, Theodore, and Alvin!" Dave said, before remembering, "Wait…what about Simon and Jeanette? They shouldn't be alone right now!"

"David," Miss Miller said, "I can feel something. Jeanette is trying to handle this. I know this has only happened because somebody evil has that key. I believe she is discovering that she has powers that have gone into her from wearing that key for fifteen years straight. And I believe that Simon stayed behind to help her recover the key. They should be okay, if we don't worry." Dave looked at her as if she had five heads.

"You're crazy. They're only fifteen! The person who has the key could have this strong build and could be like, ten years older than them with much better strength and stamina!" he said.

"David…trust me, trust my judgment, and have faith in them."

Dave sighed.

"Alright. Let's just get the four of them and get home as fast as we can," he said. Miss Miller's car jerked to a stop on the side of the road as Brittany, Eleanor, Alvin, and Theodore ran over to the car.

"Where are Simon and Jeanette?" Dave asked as the four of them climbed into the backseat.

"They're off getting Jeanette's key back from some guy named Hector. Alvin and I know the Miller history with Hector Artigo and his family. He actually explained it to us," Eleanor answered. Miss Miller's eyes narrowed.

"Hector. Do you know how to get to Simon and Jeanette?" she asked.

Alvin gave a half grin.

"I smell a plan."

* * *

**Oh. My. GAWSH. That was totally crazy! Did you see that coming? I didn't! I just make up stuff as I go! …Well, that's pretty much how you're supposed to write…ish…unless you plan stuff ahead…OH, SORRY, I'M RAMBLING! Okay, that was very exciting in my opinion, we got some Simonette!**

**Let us recap, shall we, my dearest readers?**

**That sounded stupid, but seriously, it's recap time.**

**We all remember the purple aura from Jeanette's hands. It went full-out through her body and she began to fight Hector. Hector tries to hurt Simon and the others a few times, but mainly Simon. He tries to turn Simon against Jeanette, but fails because Jeanette steps in to help him every time. Hector had Jeanette in a headlock, which Simon and Alvin managed to break. Jeanette makes Simon get away with the others and tries to fight Hector herself, resulting in her being locked in Brittany's restraints before she nearly drowns. She would've if Simon didn't come back for her. They decide to go find Hector and get her key back. Then we see that Dave and Miss Miller are driving home when they see Alvin, Brittany, Eleanor, and Theodore on the side of the road. They then learn that Simon and Jeanette are off to fight Hector and get her key back. Miss Miller decides to follow their directions to find Jeanette and Simon.**

**This is where we stand, everyone!**

**Okay, two parts are references to some movies…**

**The headlock where Simon and Alvin save Jeanette and the parts where Hector tries to turn Simon to the dark side.**

**If you can guess one of the movies right you get five awesome points, ten awesome points for anyone who guesses both of them!**

**CG10 out, see you in chapter 10!**


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